Elden Ring Nightreign might have some familiar elements from Elden Ring and other FromSoftware titles, but it's a vast departure from what came before. Even if you're a veteran "Souls-like" player, you're not ready for what this game has in store. There are quite a few things you'll need to get used to before diving into the world of Limveld.

Saying it's a tough ride would be an understatement, but that doesn't mean it's insurmountable for veterans and newcomers alike. After playing for over 80 hours and going through more than 100 different expeditions, I've come to learn to navigate Nightreign's ever-shifting environments. With my help, you can overcome the challenges that await.

Here's everything you need to know to conquer Elden Ring: Nightreign.

The fastest route to the highest levels

I can confidently say there's an easy strategy for getting the win in most runs, and it starts with reaching higher levels at about 12 and above. With the level cap being 15 in Elden Ring Nightreign, it's not too difficult an endeavor, but you'll want good coms and smart pings on the map for the most effective expeditions.

The main objective for reaching higher levels fast are Evergaols. These are the same circular prisons scattered across the map as seen in the base game, which sealed away challenging foes. You'll often see similar bosses that cropped up in the original game, but alternative mob bosses can also appear, making early encounters tough.

To open these at starting levels, you'll need to equip specific relics that grant you a Stonesword key. If you don't have any on hand, you can find these items hidden within chests in the smaller castles or open pagodas that litter the map. These keys aren't too hard to find once you know where to look.

The hard part is beating the boss of these Evergaols at lower levels. It's much easier to do with Ironeye, but Guardian and Wylder can also fare well enough if you're not facing those aforementioned mob bosses. If you have to face off against the likes of Farum Azula beasts or Carian Crystalians, it's best to run away and find another Evergaol since these encounters are too time-consuming.

In Nightreign, time is everything.

Once you've defeated one or two Evergaol bosses and take a moment to grab an extra flask or two along the way, it's time to hit the main castle at the center of the map. Your main objective is to get to level seven or 10 by the end of the first night.

The best way to do this is by beating most of the enemies that spawn within this larger castle, like the Crucible Knights, regular knights, or trolls. These enemies will drop tons of runes and valuable loot, so don't disregard them. You'll also want to take out the boss at the lower level and get the free talisman upgrade before moving on.

By this point, it should be the end of the first night. You won't have a lot of time before the ring closes to its final destination, so make sure you're at level nine or ten and have at least one or two extra healing flasks with a legendary weapon on hand. Keep an eye out for red-hued bodies of fallen Nightfarers, which could drop some valuable items.

Stick together, no matter what

The simplest and easiest path to victory is sticking with your team. Running off to do your own thing will just confuse and lead to your inevitable defeat, which will set you back a level and may even cause you to lose all your runes.

The key is survival, of course. If you die on the run and lose a level, or waste time fighting a boss for too long, the whole run is pretty much borked. Time is of the essence, and you need to face the clock; you can't be off exploring or toiling about on your own.

That's why communication and map pings are key. You don't necessarily need to be in a voice chat, but it is highly recommended, especially when facing the Night Lord of that particular run. You'll need to know when to use an Ultimate art, or when to pick up a teammate. These are crucial for victory.

You may pick up a weapon that works better for another player. Dropping loot along the way so everyone gets a proper loadout is a smart approach, but keep an eye on the passive abilities applied to these weapons. You never know which might give you an edge in a fight.

I'd also recommend steering clear of mines. While they can net you that valuable upgrade to get a blue-classed weapon to purple (legendary), it's often not the smartest approach when you've got such little time in runs. It only makes sense if you're still using the starting weapon provided by your playable Nightfarer.

That said, you'll want to get special healing items ahead of the Night Lord. These include the gradual healing flask, warming stones, and pickled turtle neck. The latter is the best way to ensure you have enough stamina during boss fights, as it raises your stamina recovery speed, but it won't be a fool-proof approach.

If you can all stick together, communicate well, share resources throughout the run, and reach level 12 or above, the Night Lord should be a cakewalk. I always recommend going into the final boss fight at level 14 or 15 for the highest odds, but a well-coordinated team that's stacked with several legendary weapons should pull through just fine.

More from Tom's Guide

• Exclusive: I tested a top-secret sim racing rig that feels high-end — but costs shockingly little
• Nintendo Switch 2 pre-orders live — latest restock updates and retailers to check now
• I dismissed the MSI Claw 8 AI+ — then Intel's game-changing update shut me up

Elden Ring Nightreign is a game of highs and lows.

After more than 20 hours played, and every major boss (known as Nightlords) vanquished, it’s provided me with some of the best co-op moments I’ve ever had in gaming, but also some of the most tedious, frustrating and just plain unfun multiplayer sessions I’ve ever endured.

My experience can be neatly categorized into runs that offered pure joy and ones that were, frankly, an unmitigated disaster. But it’s not because of a skill issue (even if I am an average Souls player, at best), but rather because I started by relying on “random” companions rather than pulling together a squad.

If you’re not aware, Elden Ring Nightreign is a new multiplayer-focused spin-off from 2022’s smash hit, and very challenging, Elden Ring. It sees you and two online companions attempt to survive across three days in a procedurally generated mishmash of the base game’s map.

It’s a highly streamlined take on the Elden Ring gameplay loop, and that proves to be a lot of fun, but you need to get just the right conditions to see the game’s true potential.

A rocky start with randoms

In my first two hours of Elden Ring” Nightreign I made one crucial mistake: I opted to group up with fellow Nightfairers via the game’s online matchmaking system.

Essentially, I was teamed up with “random” players from around the globe. I didn’t know these players personally, and beyond placing pins on the game’s rapidly shrinking maps (the closing circle mechanic from battle royale games like Fortnite is shamelessly cribbed), we had no means of communicating.

In a tough game like this, communication is key. In these initial runs, my companions and I just didn’t have the means to coordinate properly. Instead, we bumbled around the map, often traveling in opposite directions, and failing to synergize our abilities to take down the game’s toughest bosses.

This led to spectacularly unsuccessful runs that were significantly more frustrating than fun. On a couple of attempts, we did manage to stumble our way to the final boss of a run, but the odds of actually beating these powerful foes were virtually nil. We wiped in seconds.

At this point, after a couple of hours of play, I was genuinely thinking that Elden Ring Nightreign was a huge misstep from developer FromSoftware, a studio with an insane hit rate. I briefly considered whether it was even worth persisting with my playthrough. But I'm glad that was just a fleeting thought.

Getting the dream team together

Things dramatically changed when I did the thing I probably should have done from the start: Grouped up with some friends and industry peers.

Getting a three-man squad together, that included TG’s own Ryan Epps (who reviewed Elden Ring Nightreign), took my experience from largely frustrating to remarkably fun.

Suddenly, runs became an intense race against the constantly ticking clock as my companions and I strategized on the fly to craft the most efficient path through the game’s shifting world.

We became obsessed with figuring out the quickest way to acquire runes (Which allow you to level up your chosen character), loot high-powered weapons and still have enough time remaining to visit every church we could find, as these provide health-restoring flasks.

Battling bosses also became not just significantly easier, but seriously enjoyable as well. We could devise a plan, coordinate our special abilities, and call out when our oversized combatant was about to deploy a devastating chain of attacks that required us to leap out of the way.

I was also able to consistently reach the final boss of each stage and start bringing them down. Even when the repetitive nature of each run became a little monotonous, just having friendly teammates to goof around with kept me hooked and eager to keep playing more.

During a highly memorable encounter with one of the game’s toughest Nightlords, my squad managed to bring the beast down with each of us having just a sliver of health left after three failed attempts. It was in this real fist-pumping moment that I got to see Elden Ring Nightreign at its very best.

Don’t venture into the night alone

There’s an adage in gaming that any multiplayer game is better played with friends, but Elden Ring Nightreign takes this idea to a whole new level.

If you’re on the fence about picking up the game, I strongly suggest you only cough up your cash if you can convince at least two other friends to join you on your journey. Trying to play this brutal game via online matchmaking, or god-forbid, solo, is a recipe for a bad time. It's just not worth the headache.

Under the right conditions, when you have a team of (at least vaguely) competent players all communicating, Elden Ring Nightreign is truly something special. But be warned, if the conditions of play are anything less than optimal, the entire structure falls apart and becomes miserable.

Nevertheless, it's a good sign that I went from considering dropping the game after a few hours, to 20 hours later, having beaten every single boss Nightreign could throw at me, yet I remain eager to jump in again to keep getting that intoxicating adrenaline rush that only a FromSoftware game can provide.

However, I won’t be making the same mistake twice, and unless I can pull together a posse each time I want to dive into Elden Ring Nightreign's pretty unique brand of co-op action, I’ll opt to play something else instead.

More from Tom's Guide

• I've played 70 hours of Elden Ring Nightreign — here's my verdict
• Here's why the Elden Ring movie is a terrible idea
• I just beat Days Gone on PS5 Pro — and it's super underrated

Elden Ring Nightreign is one of the most-hyped experiences of the year and 2025 is already pretty stacked with some heavy-hitters. But with developer FromSoftware at the helm and Elden Ring in the name, this action RPG roguelite is already well-primed for game of the year contention.

Yet, unlike many of its predecessors, this doesn't feel like an easy shoo-in. With cooperative multiplayer the major focus in Elden Ring Nighteign, pushing to the side rich lore-seeking and deep exploration that prevailed in FromSoftware experiences past, this fresh take on the Souls formula might be a hard pill to swallow for casuals and veterans alike.

The underlying challenge remains the same. Whether you're running deep with a group of three or (God willing) solo, Elden Ring Nightreign still keeps the pressure on just like Elden Ring and Dark Souls before it, touting its own list of tough bosses, aptly coined "Night Lords."

And, instead of the Lands Between, it's Limveld you'll be surveying this time. The procedurally-generated map is ever-changing and will keep you guessing each time you drop in, but don't dilly-dally — you only have three in-game days to gear up and gain levels to take on the Night Lord that awaits.

Herein lies the major folly: the time-sink and minuscule rewards gained from each 45-minute run. Remember, base Elden Ring this is not. Whether you’re an age-old Souls fan or a newcomer, Nightreign is a steep learning curve and shows how the Souls identity can't always fit every mold.

Read on for my full review to see where Elden Ring Nightreign hits all the sweet spots and where it leaves me feeling totally parched.

Elden Ring Nightreign: The basics

• What is it? Elden Ring Nightreign is a pseudo-Rogue-lite RPG spinoff of Elden Ring. It's developed by FromSoftware and takes place in a procedurally-generated world called Limveld, which is filled to the brim with bosses to conquer. Survival over the course of three days and victory over the reigning Nightlord is key.
• Who is it for? It’s for Dark Souls veterans, Elden Ring fans, three-player co-op enjoyers, roguelite aficionados, and anyone who loves action-based RPGs.
• How much does it cost? Elden Ring Nightreign costs $39 and will be available on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X on May 30.
• What other games has the developer made? While Elden Ring put it on the map, FromSoftware is best known for its Dark Souls franchise and PlayStation exclusives, including Demon's Souls and Bloodborne. It's also the brainchild behind Armored Core, King's Field, and Sekiro.
• What games is it similar to? Elden Ring Nightreign is more akin to rogue-lites, namely Hades and Dead Cells, but shares similar qualities to action RPG predecessors, like Elden Ring and Bloodborne.

Three days in Limveld

Without any major overarching narrative elements (that you can solve on your own or otherwise), Elden Ring Nightreign plops you into a story of survival. As already mentioned, you have just three days to suit up and attain levels to take on any of its eight Night Lords, and there's not a whole lot of time to do it.

Most of my 95+ runs tended to last anywhere from 40 to 50 minutes. How it works is you face two tough bosses at the end of each day and, provided you live long enough to make it to the third sunrise, you come face to face with an even more menacing foe that puts all others to shame.

Every run feels relatively different enough, up until around the 70-hour mark. The world of Limveld is supposedly "ever-changing," but it remains largely the same in some critical ways.

Sometimes you'll see newer night closing bosses — for instance, I only saw the Nameless King (a returning boss from Dark Souls 3) once — or you'll get varied upgrades along the way that change how you play.

It's in the Shifting Earth scenarios and random boss raids where things get interesting. These tend to follow the defeat of major Night Lords, or will spawn in randomly later into your time with Nightreign. Shifting Earths completely change the map, netting you particular rewards based on the environment.

On the other hand, those aforementioned Raids can often change the run entirely. You might be in the middle of fighting a boss or trudging through the map to get a valuable item, like an extra flask that might prove vital against a Night Lord, when, out of nowhere, Margit the Fell Omen comes in to shake things up.

On paper, this might sound like something that scratches the itch for wary challenge-seekers. In practice, though, it often gets annoying — even despite the fact that Margit is relatively easy to beat. It's just an added encumbrance on top of an overly large map and the stress of a ticking clock nipping at your nerves.

Although there might be some alternative methods for getting around the map more easily, they don't always help in the end. I found myself using jump pads (known as Spiritstreams) the most versus the Spectral Hawks. The latter were often far too much out of the way and didn't always offer me the fastest route to my objective, which made navigation largely feel tedious at times.

Choosing the right Nightfarer

Much akin to the start of many a FromSoftware experience, Nightreign similarly offers players a list of characters to choose from. Except, this time your experience is largely fueled by that character's individual playstyle — meaning you don't have much of a say in that character's particular skillset.

Therefore, you're locked into one mode of play depending on the character you choose. Luckily, there's a lot to enjoy in this department. The range of eight Nightfarers includes Wylder, Executor, Iron Eyes, Revenant, Recluse, Guardian, Raider, and Duchess. Each has a Passive Ability, Character Skill, and Ultimate Art that match their playstyles.

I mostly played with Wylder and Executor, but also tried a bit of Revenant, Iron Eyes, and Recluse. Executor was one of my favorites, serving as the Nightreign-branded dex build and Sekiro insert of the bunch. He wields a trusty katana and an ultimate that allows him to turn into a monstrous beast that can do devastating damage to bosses.

With Executor, I usually ran dual katanas for that incredible bleed buildup and with Wylder, I tended to use dual greatswords. I kind of enjoy power stancing in this game (as much as I did in Elden Ring and Dark Souls 2), and it's nice that you can even use weapons you don't want to wield to your advantage.

For instance, a weapon might not be the best for a particular build, but it could have better jump attacks as a passive ability. Even just keeping this in one of your slots will be highly beneficial, and it incentivizes you to constantly pick up new gear even if the item in question doesn't match your playstyle.

Ultimate Arts can prove the end-all be-all of an entire run. You'll have to wisely choose to either save an Ultimate for picking up fallen teammates or using it against bosses, just to get a good stagger in so your friends can wail on them. It's a tough balance and cooldowns often vary, but largely depend on the amount of landed attacks you make on a foe or even a fallen comrade.

Nightfarers also have some interesting story beats to dive into. Coined "Remembrances," these side missions expound on their motives and can bring you to some interesting places, granting you new skins and even some useful Relics. These can be used to upgrade characters for every run.

Relics are a handy way to incentivize runs. Whether you die or defeat a Night Lord, you're granted a list of rewarded Relics, which can grant you a variety of different things like boosted stamina or intelligence, heightened attack power when applying poison to foes, or granting fire to a weapon when using a Character Skill.

Although these can be incredibly important in your first few hours, after a while, repeat Relics become common, and even some new ones become entirely useless. Eventually, you'll find the ones that match your mode of play and simply roll with them — and that's kind of the end of them.

A newness sorely lacking

There's a lot to love here. As someone who has played all of FromSoftware's catalog, I was thoroughly excited to give this fresh spin a try and it's been a lot of fun, for the most part.

Despite the underlying enjoyment, there are a bevy of hindrances and the most glaring of them all is the fact that you really need a solid group of three to persist in this game. There's just no way anyone's going to run through Nightreign with just random players casually. If so, you'd have to get real lucky.

Communication is key in this game. While you can get by with simple markers and pings on the map, sitting in a voice chat makes this a total breeze. Otherwise, you can't accurately time when to use an Ultimate or specify where someone's going at a particular moment.

A major point of contention for me was picking up teammates. When another hero loses all of their health, they'll fall to the ground in a glowing purple hue and you'll have to hit them several times before they're rejuvenated. Although it might sound simple enough, it proves a little tedious given the lackluster in-game targeting and the minimal amount of stamina you have in this game.

The stamina gauge in Nightreign is a huge misstep in my opinion. It's one of the biggest problems I had in most of my runs, always running out of stamina in the worst situations — largely because bosses jump around the map so much you have to run around to catch up with them, only for your stamina bar to deplete in seconds.

It would make more sense if you didn't have to expend stamina on dashes to get to bosses or use much less stamina in boss scenarios, making Night Lord fights and even night cap bosses feel a lot less time-consuming. I feel like a good portion of the time is spent waiting for my stamina gauge to replenish and with a couple of tweaks, I feel like this could easily be amended.

And one of my biggest gripes is not being allowed to buy more items at the final night market or even sell items to get some extra runes back. It prevents you from shifting all the useless gear you've accumulated over the run.

What this game needs the most, though, is duos. I truly don't understand why a solo mode was prioritized over duos — I guess for offline players, mostly, but I see a large side of the player base running with randoms or friends, for the most part. Duos could add such an awesome dynamic to this game, and I hope FromSoftware does end up adding this mode in a future update.

Elden Ring Nightreign: Verdict

I could yap all day long about this game. Elden Ring Nightreign is totally different from anything FromSoftware has done before. It fits into a whole new mold, one that gives Souls veterans a seemingly never-ending challenge that will test their skills for years to come.

But after over 70 hours of gameplay, I feel I've seen pretty much everything Nightreign has to offer, and there's little else drawing me back in. Aside from playing with other Nightfarers and running their Remembrances, there's not much else here in terms of replayability and the relics I could garner won't amount to much against what I've already got.

I'll be around helping new players take down bosses, of course, but once I've seen them through the Night Lords, I don't see much else keeping me (and others) sticking around until future DLC. And that's a real shame coming from the spinoff of an experience that heralded hundreds of hours of enjoyment.

Several friends have asked for my thoughts on the recently concluded Elden Ring Nighreign closed beta. After playing for over 10 hours across the five network tests conducted for the game, I'm still deciding how to best respond to their questions.

While I thoroughly enjoyed my time in the ever-changing world of Limveld, I’m still not convinced it fits quite well into the Souls formula — or, for that matter, into the purview of the wider Souls audience. As one of FromSoftware’s most passionate fans, with PlayStation platinum trophies spanning several of its biggest releases (some even twice), I’m left to ponder who exactly Nightreign is for.

There’s a glimmer of hope, of course, and it’s also important to note that my opinions are based on an early build of the game. I’m left to assume there's much more content missing from its main release. FromSoftware wouldn’t drop a network test that shows all of its cards, and there is room for additional content down the road. Is this all Nightreign has to offer? I hope not (and highly doubt it).

I have some thoughts I need to unpack for my own sanity (and to get my friends off my back). After all, I don’t want to end up hollow ahead of Elden Ring Nightreign’s big release on May 30.

Despite my current feelings about the experience, I’m curious how the final build might shake out, even if there are games I’m far more stoked to play this year.

Fortnite meets Hades with an Elden Ring coat of paint

Elden Ring Nightreign is a vast departure from other FromSoftware titles. The $40 experience targets Elden Ring fans but deviates from the base experience, opting instead for PvE multiplayer co-op gameplay with some battle royale and rogue-lite elements baked in.

On the surface, it's actually an interesting experience that feels like a mashup of Fortnite, Hades, and Elden Ring. It makes sense why FromSoftware would pick the Elden Ring IP for this adventure, given its mass appeal. And there may well be an even larger audience for this type of game as opposed to the conventional Souls-like. Just look at how big Fortnite is.

But that's one of the main issues I have with Nightreign. I worry it takes too much inspiration from battle royale concepts, with its enclosing circle surrounding each map being a major culprit. While playing Nightreign, I ran into several moments where I had to face major bosses with no healing flasks, largely because I'd used them up trudging through the storm to make it to that final area.

It's frustrating because I want to explore this world, but that's not quite what this game's all about.

It doesn't help that the Limveld map is littered with caves and mines, much like the original game. This makes it tough to tell when and where the storm is in the overworld when venturing into these places. Thus, you have to consistently keep your eye on the map to ensure you don't get swallowed whole by the storm before you know it's even coming.

There is a warning when the storm starts to move. In fact, there are two separate warnings, but you really have to pay attention to them. They pop up as text at the bottom of the screen and can be easily missed, which is why it would be nice if there was an audible sound or a tune that went along with it, ensuring that you know exactly when the storm's closing so you have ample enough time to get out of its reach.

It also doesn't help that the map of Limveld is pretty tough to navigate. Nightreign offers several different modes of transportation, like a purple spring that shoots players up into the sky or a spirit bird tree that lets you fly in a set direction through a wind current. But why not give us extra forms of transportation, like Elden Ring's mount, Torrent, or other alternative methods for getting around?

One way I could see this materialized is by killing a certain boss for their steed, like the Royal Knight bosses that roam the map, or finding the ring of Torrent in the overworld. That could add extra incentive for going out of your way to kill special bosses.

I mean, how cool would it be to kill and tame an ancient dragon, then ride it around like you're the Nameless King from Dark Souls 3? Maybe a bit too wishful thinking on my part, but that would be a sight to behold.

Souls without the RPG

Dark Souls, Elden Ring, Bloodborne, and even Demon's Souls before them all proved especially popular primarily for their RPG elements, specifically in the way you can build out your own character. It's why I've come to love these games so dearly and why I think Nightreign will be an uphill battle for some players.

In Nightreign, instead of building your own character, the game has variations for you to pick from. There's a tanky bird-man with a halberd, a conventional knight character with an Armored Core-esque pile bunker, a mage with ranged abilities, and a rogue-like assassin who is reminiscent of Maria from Bloodborne.

I'm sure there will be more in the final product (evidenced by several in-game photos provided by Bandai Namco), but this limitation might be a tough pill to swallow for some Souls veterans.

The major issue is that you can't decide where your stats go when leveling up. When you hit a lost grace (or bonfire, as I still call them), you just level up, there's no picking your individual stats — the game does this automatically.

It makes sense for this kind of experience, where time is of the essence and you don't exactly have those precious minutes to run through every stat for leveling. But it leaves a lot of player choice on the floor, and that's what makes Souls games so special.

Of course, you can still pick up weapons and use whatever you find in the overworld to your advantage, but it doesn't mean they all will be useful to that specific character, no matter how much you level up.

I mostly ran as the mage (called Recluse), but one thing I quickly realized was that I needed to find an armament beyond the gifted staff at the very start of each run. Otherwise, I'd be cooked as you can deplete your magic pretty quickly in those early stages.

And then there's the whole PvE elephant in the room. One thing I've always loved about the Souls series is the player-on-player action, which can be annoying to some newer players. It doesn't feel great when you're invaded at the very start of the game by a try-hard with a strength weapon.

Personally, those are the very kinds of moments I adore. They make you really grind, dig in, and get used to the experience, adding weight and variety to an already exceptionally built world. Nightreign sort of has similar concepts, as Margit will randomly appear out of nowhere to stand in your way — but it's not quite the same.

Though (again) it might be wishful thinking, I really hope FromSoft reconsiders its approach. Maybe a different mode could be worked into the game later down the line that adds the potential for random player invasions or PvP of some aspect.

I mean, it sounds crazy but a Fortnite battle royale in the guise of Elden Ring, with medieval weaponry and special characters, could actually be pretty sick if done right. After all, PvP in the base Elden Ring experience has not only fizzled out, but it never quite matched the quality present in Dark Souls 3 (or even Dark Souls 2, for that matter).

Fans are itching for an apt Elden Ring PvP experience, and Nightreign could be it, but only with the right amount of tweaking.

The hype still intensifies

I must note that it's not like I detested my entire time with Elden Ring Nightreign. There were bright spots I enjoyed, like the comradery of the whole experience. You really need to keep together as a team (provided you're playing with three extras) otherwise you're going to get pummeled by the bosses. In true Souls fashion, it's no cakewalk.

The idea goes hand-in-hand with Miyazaki's original conception of the Demon's Souls multiplayer formula. He explained it in a Eurogamer interview from 2010, which is utterly fascinating and I highly recommend a read if you love all things Souls.

But, in Nightreign, you have to rely on your teammates and can't dawdle or go off on your own. You have to stick together and, lending credence to my previous comments, that might not be for everyone.

Another thing I will give Nightreign credit for is its reuse of certain items that were pretty useless in the base game. Two in particular are the consumables that fill your MP and heal you, the Starlight Shard and Warming Stone (respectively). These two items are utterly crucial for getting to night three in Nightreign and will be quite helpful in varied runs.

I also am particularly fond of Nightreign's use of classic Dark Souls bosses. Though doubtful, I do hope FromSoft can get the go-ahead from PlayStation to use certain fan-favorite characters from Demon's Souls and Bloodborne. I wouldn't mind facing off against Old King Allant and Lady Maria once more. If anything, I'd settle for a Patches cameo.

Putting aside the critic in me, I am thoroughly hyped for Elden Ring Nighteign. I'll be there in Limveld alongside all the other fans come May 30, and I don't doubt it will draw a massive crowd. Until then, I'll be dashing through the Lands Between practicing my parrying.

More from Tom's Guide

• Where to buy RTX 5070 Ti — live updates and stock checker
• Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii is the best spin-off yet — here's my verdict after 30 hours
• PlayStation Portal review

Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree has been kicking my ass since it launched and I’ve loved every second of it.

Elden Ring is by far my favorite game release of this console generation, so it’s not surprising that I’m enamored with its DLC expansion. Like we said in our Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree review, this new adventure is a microcosm of the Elden Ring experience — containing everything that made FromSoftware’s open-world action RPG so special. It’s absolutely incredible … if you don’t mind a stiff challenge.

Shadow of the Erdtree isn’t as long or teeming with extracurricular activities like Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth and Stellar Blade. However, FromSoftware’s expansion feels more meaningful since none of its main and side quests feel superfluous. Exploring the densely packed map always yields rewards. And thanks to its difficulty, you can’t just breeze through any given area. The 20 to 30 hours you’ll spend playing this game feel substantial from beginning to end.

Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree is the most fun I’ve had playing on PS5 all year. Here’s why.

It’s all about the challenge

My colleague Rory Mellon said this in his review, but I also initially strolled into the Elden Ring DLC with a big ego. And could you blame me? I defeated the main game’s final boss, and lesser foes didn’t stand a chance against my melee-focused character. I expected a new challenge when I entered the Land of Shadows (where the DLC takes place), but after almost being killed by the first enemy I encountered, I got an instant reality check. This wouldn’t be the walk in the park I expected.

Like the original Elden Ring, the DLC taught me a very valuable lesson about having patience in tough video games.

The challenge in FromSoftware’s games is a major part of the draw since it creates an oppressive environment that constantly keeps you on alert. This is doubly true in Shadow of the Edtree since you need to use an item called Scadutree fragments to make yourself stronger in the Land of Shadows. Given the scarcity of this item, you can’t farm it like Runes dropped by enemies — which serves to heighten the challenge. Forcing you to effectively start over was a smart gameplay decision since it instills the same tension one felt when booting up Elden Ring two years ago.

One thing I didn’t want to start over with was my character. Instead of creating a different build, I optimized my strength-focused character to better withstand the punishing Lands of Shadow. I enjoyed fine-tuning my build last time and it was fun to do that again. I still get my butt handed to me if I’m not careful, but at least bosses don’t kill me in one hit like when I first started the DLC.

Speaking of bosses, Shadow of the Erdtree has some of the nastiest boss encounters of any FromSoft game. In fact, it was these battles that forced me to reassess my build. Having a decent Scadutree level helps, but not by much. Some bosses felt unfair since they sometimes never let up on their attacks, but figuring out how to either withstand or avoid them when they go berserk was enjoyable. Defeating a boss (after dying 50 million times) is arguably more satisfying in this DLC than in the main game because of how aggressive they are.

You’d think playing Shadow of the Erdtree with friends would make it easier but that’s not always the case. For instance, the already super-aggressive bosses become downright ferocious when you’re in a group. This was also true of the main Elden Ring game but it’s much worse in the DLC. But even though the game can be more difficult with friends, I still prefer having my buds around. One shouldn’t die alone, after all.

The bringer of pain

Video games have become far too easy in recent years, with even the hardest modes not posing much of a challenge a lot of the time. Because of that, I’m glad Shadow of the Edtree actually amped up the difficulty. It’s a humbling (but awesome) experience. Games are supposed to test you, and this expansion does an exemplary job of doing that.

Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree is merciless; testing your skills and mental fortitude. But even though the DLC sometimes makes me want to break my controller, I’m having a blast overcoming the game’s insane challenges. FromSoftware has delivered another masterpiece of an expansion — and one that’s often better than most full-sized games. 

More from Tom's Guide

• Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree — 3 tips to get you started
• Shadow of the Erdtree drops to 'mixed' Steam rating
• PlayStation just beat Prime Day with must-play PS5 games from $5

Two years after its release, Elden Ring is back making gaming headlines all over again. The acclaimed DLC expansion, Shadow of the Erdtree has arrived, expanding FromSoftware's already huge world with another dose of uber-tough action. 

In addition to the DLC, the title's been making waves for another reason. In an interview with The Guardian, FromSoftware president Hidetaka Miyazaki has let slip that there's "interest" in developing an Elden Ring adaptation at the studio, with the caveat that the studio would need to bring a strong creative partner onboard to make it happen.

"I don't see any reason to deny another interpretation or adaptation of Elden Ring, a movie for example", Miyazaki said. "But I don't think myself, or FromSoftware, have the knowledge or ability to produce something in a different medium. So that's where a very strong partner would come into play. We'd have to build a lot of trust and agreement on whatever it is we're trying to achieve, but there's interest, for sure."

Since that story went out, "Game of Thrones" author George R.R. Martin — who did the worldbuilding for Elden Ring — coyly talked around the adaptation on his 'Not a Blog' site.

"Oh, and about those rumors you may have heard about a feature film or television series based on Elden Ring... I have nothing to say. Not a word, nope, not a thing, I know nothing, you never heard a peep from me, mum mum mum. What rumor?", he wrote. Given Martin loves to drop hints about potential "Game of Thrones" spinoffs in the same place, there's every chance this could well be a cryptic hint we should pay attention to. 

The fact is, I have some serious concerns about a potential adaptation. I've spent more than 120 hours in the Lands Between to date, and I'm not exactly sure an Elden Ring movie has the potential to be the next "Fallout" or "The Last Of Us". I know some readers might call those rookie numbers, but after my three-month fugue state cycle of "wake up, go to work, have dinner, play Elden Ring, repeat" at launch, I had to play other stuff; Baldur's Gate 3 wanted my PS5 hard drive space! 

Regardless, after exploring a ton of the catacombs, taking on the base-game bosses, and earning the platinum trophy, I struggle to see how an Elden Ring adaptation would work; here are just a few of the reasons why.

Elden Ring is too well-suited to being a video game

One of the best things about playing Elden Ring, or any of FromSoft's games, for that matter, is the unfamiliarity of the world around you, and actually getting to take it in at your own pace, taking on the challenges it offers and overcoming them.

An adaptation in another medium is going to lack the tactility of playing FromSoftware's title. I struggle to see how a movie or TV show could replicate the feedback loop of this brilliant game. 

Elden Ring is so compelling because it feeds into that 'one more try' mentality. You're stepping back into the boss arena over and over until you finally learn that one enemy's attack patterns well enough to get the upper hand. It's a feeling that is so specific to the medium, and I just don't think seeing a Tarnished going through the motions on-screen would be the same. 

Furthermore, your journey from Limgrave to the Elden Beast is as compelling because it hinges on the choices you make as a player. You choose what order you approach the Shardbearers in; you choose your Tarnished's build, your weapons, your play style, and so on.  

Elden Ring's story hinges as much, if not more, on the player's interaction with and exploration of the world as they approach that, so I struggle to see how it can work when someone else is holding the reins. 

Elden Ring's lore seems too dense to adapt

Putting aside what I said about the "experience" of playing Elden Ring, let's say that plans are indeed already underway to adapt the overarching plot. Okay, how on earth do you approach that story? 

Elden Ring presents you with a sprawling open world full of lore to digest, plot threads to follow through, characters to meet, and bosses to defeat, with little more than a short introductory cutscene to prime you before you spawn in an unforgiving, broken and often downright alien world. It's full of possibilities, right?

Well, I feel overwhelmed just thinking about how a showrunner might try to approach something this dense. I fail to see how it would work without turning into a massive slog full of exposition. The Lands Between feels richly realized not only because of the well-designed levels and legacy dungeons but also because, as players, we get the time to stop and ponder the lore tidbits when we pick up a new weapon or chat with a new character. 

Yes, I know plenty of fans (myself included) adore listening to lore retellings from creators like VaatiVidya, but I don't think this is the kind of form an Elden Ring adaptation will take. It will need to be more approachable, something to suit a very wide audience (given how expensive it will likely be to make), and I think an adaptation of that scale would have to trade in some of the intricacies of the world. 

The only feasible way I can see an adaptation working would perhaps be by taking isolated events from the time before our Tarnished arrived on the scene. Perhaps a studio wants to tackle The Shattering, the war between Shardbearers that sprung. But even on this front, I'd apply the same logic George R.R. Martin applies to some of the events in Westerosian history: I think we already know all we need to know about Elden Ring's past to make the game a compelling story. 

Talking about the oft-requested "Robert's Rebellion" spinoff, Martin wrote back in 2017 that he didn't want one made because we'll know every important event by the time he's finished A Song of Ice and Fire. And unlike readers still waiting for The Winds of Winter, Elden Ring players have the finished story at hand. We've experienced the consequences of The Shattering, and seen what effect it had on the Shardbearers and the world itself. 

I'm willing to accept that I could be very wrong and that someone is waiting in the wings to transplant the Elden Ring experience into a new medium entirely. I have loved returning to the game for the DLC and even started up a brand-new character to run through the early hours to try and recapture the feeling of playing it over again before writing this up.

If FromSoftware strikes up the right creative partnership to bring Elden Ring to our screens in a new light, there's every chance that the ensuing adaptation could be just as successful as the original game. Right now, though, I think this story is best experienced in its original form. 

More from Tom's Guide

• Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree — 3 tips to get you started
• The best PS5 games
• PlayStation’s mid-year sale has must-play PS5 games from $4

The dust is beginning to settle after one of the biggest games of the summer, FromSoftware's Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree, launched this week, and some players aren't happy. The highly anticipated new DLC dropped to a "mixed" review score on Steam over the weekend amid mounting complaints of performance issues and difficulty spikes that make even the infamously tough-as-nails base game look like Super Weenie Hut Juniors by comparison. 

As of writing this, more than 26,000 players have weighed in on Steam. And while just over half (14,500~) of the user reviews speak very positively of Elden Ring's first major expansion, a few reoccurring criticisms are gaining traction. Chief among them is Shadow of Erdtree's performance on PC. 

Granted, the original Elden Ring came with its fair share of PC issues when it debuted in 2022. But given its record 25 million units sold, it seems players were willing to overlook stuttering frame rates, a 60 fps cap, and lack of ultrawide support to experience one of the best RPGs modern gaming has to offer. Now, two years later, that goodwill is waning, and the cracks are starting to show. 

"The base game runs great, but for some reason I have severe FPS drops and stutter in the DLC," one player said, adding that "in certain areas it's just completely unbearable." Another review marked as "helpful" by nearly 600 people said they ran into "constant micro-stuttering and frame drops, freezes as well as increases in loading times" that "make it difficult to enjoy and play the game." An early boss fight that takes place near a puddle of water was a particular pain point, resulting in consistent issues with frame rate drops for many players.

Several reviews for Shadow of the Erdtree warn players to hold off on buying the DLC until FromSoftware rolls out a performance patch or two, as it did with the original.

As for the difficulty, I've seen reviews complaining that the new weapons and tools available in the expansion are either too wimpy to pose any real threat to the bosses or else are so overpowered they're practically required equipment to beat it. While Souls games are known for their ridiculously tough bosses, the DLC seems hellbent on dialing that difficulty up to eleven. In his Shadow of the Erdtree review, my colleague Rory Mellon said it's like Elden Ring on hard mode, managing to pack in some of the game’s most memorable, enjoyable and (most importantly) difficult encounters.

"I love running for 20 minutes in an open area with absolutely nothing to pick up random consumables that I'll never use against bosses that are insanely tedious to fight. very miserable experience," another player said in a Steam review.

"It's not a question of "can you do it?" but rather "do you want to do it?". In the case of this dlc, the answer is no," opined yet another disappointed Tarnished.

Here's hoping that FromSoftware will cook up some balancing and performance patches in the near future. In the meantime, if you're just venturing out into the Land of the Shadow, be sure to check out our top three tips to get you started with Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree. 

More from Tom's Guide

• Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree — 3 tips to get you started
• Civilization 7 is coming in 2025 — here are 5 features I'd love to see return
• Shadow of the Erdtree is Elden Ring on hard mode — and I can't get enough of it

If I’ve taken one lesson away from my 25 hours (and counting) with Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree, it’s the dangers of hubris. 

Before beginning my quest in this new DLC expansion for Elden Ring, I decided to sharpen my skills by mopping up some miscellaneous dungeons in Caelid, an area of the base game I’d somewhat neglected in my original playthrough. I was grossly overpowered for the mid-game location with my level 140 character and breezed through its toughest bosses without breaking a sweat. I was unstoppable. This DLC would be a cakewalk, I told myself. 

Naturally, I barrelled into Shadow of the Erdtree feeling like an invincible Elden Lord, only to be thoroughly wrecked by the first enemy I encountered. And it wasn’t even a boss. It was a garden-variety overworld foe. My ego was bruised but I was also struck with the same sense of awe and intimation that I experienced the first time I booted up Elden Ring in 2022. 

I share this anecdote not just to poke fun at my arrogance, but also to say that Shadow of the Erdtree recaptures the same magic that made Elden Ring developer FromSoftware’s most gripping game to date, and arguably the defining title of this current generation. 

Shadow of the Erdtree is not just an excuse to play more Elden Ring, but also one of the best DLC expansions ever; offering some of the most challenging and rewarding content in the Elden universe to date. Read on for my full Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree review…  

Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree: The Basics 

• What is it? Shadow of the Erdtree is a new DLC expansion for Elden Ring. It offers players an entirely new area to explore, lots of additional weapons, armor and loot to collect alongside the game’s toughest boss battles.
• Who is it for? As you might expect, Shadow of the Erdtree is primarily aimed at Elden Ring players craving more content. This DLC won't be for you if you bounced off the base game.
• What's the price? Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree costs $39 for the standard edition or $49 for the Premium Bundle with a digital artbook and soundtrack. You can also get a bundle with the Elden Ring game for $79.
• What other games has the developer made? FromSoftware, the Japanese studio behind Elden Ring, Bloodborne and Dark Souls, developed Shadow of the Erdtree.
• What games is this similar to? Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree shares significant DNA with From’s own Dark Souls series but mixes in the open-world aspects found in other popular fantasy RPGs. 

A world of shadows

One of Elden Ring’s greatest strengths is that it strips away much of the unnecessary complexity of FromSoftware’s Dark Souls games while retaining its unapologetically demanding nature. This is a philosophy that Shadow of the Erdtree very much continues. 

Accessing DLC chapters in previous From games has required an extensive series of steps that were often so unintuitive that following a guide felt almost mandatory. However, starting Shadow of the Erdtree is simple: Beat a late-game boss (Mohg, Lord of Blood), interact with the large egg at the back of his palace, and you’ll be whisked away to a brand new area.   

This new location is known as The Land of Shadows, and it’s a pretty vast map roughly the size of the base game’s Limgrave and Liurnia of the Lakes combined. Most importantly, it’s densely packed, even more so than many areas in the original Elden Ring. Parts of the map are stacked on top of each other, with underground caves and mountaintop passes aplenty. 

In fact, just deciding which direction to head when you first step into the Land of Shadows is tricky. Expect to feel pleasantly overwhelmed with new points of interest to explore. This masterful world design feeds into an immense sense of exploration. Often I would set out with a particular destination in mind but along the way would get so distracted by unexpected discoveries and optional areas that it would be hours before I reached my initial goal.  

However, returning players hoping for a radical departure from the world design of the base game will be a tad disappointed. The Lands of Shadows is comprised of the same crumbling ruins, toxic swamps and jaggy cliff sides as The Lands Between. But the inclusion of ethereal tombstones strewn pretty much everywhere does give the area a pleasantly spooky quality. 

Prepare to die, a lot

It does Elden Ring, and by extension Shadow of the Erdtree, a disservice to solely focus on its difficulty. There’s so much more to appreciate about FromSoftware’s work than its penchant for crafting seriously tough enemy encounters, but there’s no denying that the studio’s popularity is (to some degree) because of its uncompromising approach to difficulty. 

So, if you’re seeking well-crafted bosses who will seriously test your Elden Ring skills, you’ll be delighted with the large handful of new battles in the Land of Shadows. The optional overworld foes don’t put up much of a fight — apart from the Furnace Golems which present a stern challenge, especially for melee builds — but the mandatory bosses pull no punches.  

I’m fearful of divulging any spoilers (a cardinal sin in Souls circles), so I'll refrain from talking about the memorable bosses found deep within the DLC. But, I will say Shadow of the Erdree includes some of my favorite battles in any FromSoftware game, with one mid-game fight highly reminiscent of Dark Souls 3 (in a very good way) and the Divine Beast Dancing Lion boss, which has been heavily featured in pre-release marketing, another highlight. 

There are a few too many dragon encounters for my liking, though. These fights feel largely repetitive as the strategy for taking down a fire-breathing variant is identical to the method required for slaying a lightning-imbued dragon. One section throws four dragon fights at you in quick succession and by the third, I was starting to feel fatigued. Fortunately, the fourth switches things up a little and is absolutely brutal. Truth be told, it’s a boss I’ve yet to beat. 

Amassing more armaments

As you’d expect Shadow of the Erdtree does offer players a whole new set of tools to handle its many tough bosses. There’s an impressively large selection of new weapons to discover, including my personal favorite Red Bear Claws, which effectively let you become Sabertooth from the X-Men. But there are also various new swords, daggers, shields and magic items. 

To assist you in upgrading these new weapons quickly, hidden caves and dungeons are packed with valuable resources. Finding consumable Smithing Stones has never been easier. However, the high difficulty of Shadow of the Erdtree encouraged me to stick with my well-established melee class instead of experimenting. When the odds are already stacked against you, the last thing you want is to be wrapping your head around a new loadout. 

Alongside a whole armory of new weapons, The Land of Shadow is packed to bursting with new spells, armor pieces, Ashes of War, Spirit Ashes, talismans and other useful knickknacks, but the most important new collectibles are Scadutree Fragments. These hard-to-find shards increase your Scadutree Blessing, which increases your damage output and lowers damage taken. A high level can be the difference between victory or defeat. 

Unfortunately, the importance placed on Scadutree Fragments does somewhat negatively affect the DLC’s character progression loop. In base Elden Ring, if you get stuck on a tricky section, you can always explore somewhere else and come back safe in the knowledge that you’ll be stronger upon your return after leveling up using runes. However, in Shadow of the Erdtree, if you get stuck, you better hope you can locate some Scadutree Fragments quickly, otherwise your only option is to attempt to push through the difficulty barrier.  

Another key collectible is Revered Spirit Ashes which buff your Spirit Ashes. This boost is particularly useful for players who need a helping hand during the DLC’s toughest moments. But fear not players looking for the most extreme challenge possible. You can entirely ignore Scadutree Fragments and Revered Spirit Ashes if you want the ultimate test of your skills. 

Hauntingly beautiful sights

Elden Ring’s open world is a visually striking setting, and that’s again true of Shadow of the Erdtree. While it may not offer an assortment of wholly unique biomes, each location leaves an impression. For example, to the south, you’ll find ocean-adjacent fields covered in blue flowers, with a rocky overpass specced by red flowers above, which looks stunning. 

From’s practically legendary ability for creating intricate and grotesque enemies is on full display in Shadow of the Erdtree. There are some recycled enemies, but also plenty of new combatants that will have you marveling at their designs, before they send you to an early grave. Not to repeat myself, but I feel compelled to give Dancing Lion another shout-out.  

On a technical level, the DLC succeeds too. During my time with Shadow of the Erdtree I’ve only experienced minor bugs and a few frustrating moments where the camera’s rogue movements caused me to take a hit I could have otherwise avoided. However, prepare for pop-in when you spawn at a Site of Grace as the world takes a few seconds to fully load.

Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree verdict

Shadow of the Erdtree Tree is a microcosm of everything good about Elden Ring. It’s a meaty DLC addition bursting with new secrets to discover, challenging bosses to slay and mysterious new characters to meet (though the story remains too cryptic for its own good). 

This expansion stands alongside The Witcher 3’s Blood and Wine and Bloodborne’s The Old Hunters as a vital DLC chapter that refines and expands on the best bits of the base game. Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree doesn’t reinvent what came before, but when the already established formula is practically perfect, more of the same is easily enough to satisfy. 

Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree is almost here. The Land of Shadow beckons wary travelers into its dark midst, wherein dangers of enormous stature lurk in wait to utterly demolish those who oppose them.

But stand tall, my fellow tarnished, as we at Tom's Guide are here to provide you with ample support on your quest through these forgotten realms. Before diving headlong into this new world underpinning the great Elden Ring, there are several prerequisites you might want to consider first.

Even the most daring Souls veterans will need a bit of preparation for what's in store in this expansion. With a potential run time of nearly 30 to 40 hours, Shadow of the Erdtree is sure to keep you busy in your hard-fought attempts to reach the menacing Mesmer, the Impaler.

So sharpen your blades, equip your best talismans and follow along with us as we detail everything you need to know to prepare for this exciting return to one of gaming's most enticing expansions.

General DLC prerequisites

Shadow of the Erdtree will surely test the patience of many tarnished. Be that as it may, you should aim to have your character properly ready for everything this expansion will throw your way. People who have already played the DLC say you should ideally strive to be between level 100 and 150. Keep in mind that PvP is typically capped at 125.

Thus, being properly leveled is a gold standard for success in Elden Ring. The game is quite a challenge, and you can expect its expansion to be just as (if not more) brutal than the base experience. So you may want to level yourself up even higher, but note that the DLC has an opt-in approach with a new leveling scheme.

I won't get into spoilers, but you'll want to be properly situated for the DLC in terms of your stats. Luckily, this isn't Dark Souls 2, so you won't have to invest a ton of points into ADP. However, it is recommended that you get your Vigor (health) up to at least 50 or even 60.

I'd recommend stocking up on several consumable items, namely Rune Arcs, Larval Tears, and varied Boluses (Stimulating Boluses primarily). You'll also want to nab all of the cookbooks scattered across the Lands Between so you can always craft any consumable you're missing when traversing the Land of Shadow.

There are a few buffs in the game that should also make your time in the DLC less stressful. For starters, make sure you have Golden Vow. It can either be found as an ash of war or as an incantation — the latter being the better of the two variants, gifting you increased damage negation and attack power.

Another great buff to have is Flame, Grant me Strength, an incantation that lasts just 30 seconds allotting 20% Fire and Physical damage negation in tandem with 11% Stamina recovery. Last but not least, Blessing of the Erdtree will serve you greatly as a powerful healing spell that restores 12HP per second for 90 seconds. 

Several talismans should also be sought out for an improved build. I recommend the Great Jar's Talisman, Erdtree's Favor Talisman, Winged Sword Insignia, and Dragoncrest Greatshield Talisman. You may also want to ensure you have all of the Crystal Tears for your Wondrous Physick before proceeding into the Land of Shadow.

Infinite upgrade materials 

With the DLC comes an arsenal of interesting new weapons to try, which will corral as many as 100 new variants across an additional eight new weapon types. That means you're going to need a ton of upgrading materials — you know, those smithing stones you pick up and totally forget you have in your inventory. 

Elden Ring has two different types of smithing stones; Somber and regular smithing stones. To get an infinite amount of these so you don't have to consistently keep searching them out in the overworld, you'll want to acquire the nine total bell bearings to give to the Twin Maiden Husks in the Roundtable Hold.

It's here where you can purchase these upgrading materials ad infinitum, which is quite helpful for those accruing a multitude of exciting new armaments to try. This way, if you upgrade something to its fullest (or close to its fullest) and find another new weapon that better meets your fancy, you'll have plenty of materials and won't have to stress about reacquiring them. 

Below are the locations of the five Smithing Stone Bell Bearings and four Somber Bell Bearings:

• Smithing-Stone Miner's Bell Bearing 1: Dropped by Crystalian boss of Raya Lucaria Crystal Tunnel in Liurnia
• Smithing-Stone Miner's Bell Bearing 2: Sealed Tunnel in Leyndell Capital Outskirts, Altus Plateau
• Smithing-Stone Miner's Bell Bearing 3: Zamor Ruins in the Mountaintops of the Giants
• Smithing-Stone Miner's Bell Bearing 4: Dropped by Godskin Duo boss in Crumbling Farum Azula
• Somberstone Miner's Bell Bearing 1: Dropped by Fallingstar beast of Sellia Crystal Tunnel in Caelid
• Somberstone Miner's Bell Bearing 2: Dropped by Crystalian Duo boss of Altus Tunnel in Altus Plateau
• Somberstone Miner's Bell Bearing 3: First Church of Marika in Mountaintops of the Giants
• Somberstone Miner's Bell Bearing 4: Tempest-Facing Balcony in Crumbling Farum Azula
• Somberstone Miner's Bell Bearing 5: Down the lift before Beside the Greatbridge Site of Grace in Crumbling Farum Azula

Unfortunately, you won't be able to get an unlimited amount of the final upgrade in both tiers. Those are the Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone and Somber Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone, of which there are only a total of 13 and eight (respectively). 

You can find all 21 stones in the following ways:

• Complete Sellen's Quest by siding with Jerren
• Defeat or give Gurranq 9 Deathroot in Bestial Sanctuary
• Inside a giant skull south from Church of Repose in Mountaintops of Giants
• Defeat first encountered ancient dragon in Crumbling Farum Azula
• On floating platform north of Dragon Temple in Crumbling Farum Azula
• Defeat ancient dragon summoning lightning in Crumbling Farum Azula 
• Complete Nepheli Loux Quest 
• Purchase from Gatekeeper Gastoc following Nepheli Loux Quest 
• Defeat dual Night's Cavalry near Inner Consecrated Snowfield Site of Grace in Consecrated Snowfield 
• Yelough Anix Tunnel in Consecrated Snowfield 
• Found on corpse above Great Wyrm Theodorix in Consecrated Snowfield 
• In front of statue near Halligtree Town Plaza in Miquella's Haligtree 
• In chest after Loretta boss encounter in Miquella's Haligtree
• In stone gazeebo near ancient dragon summoning lightning in Crumbling Farum Azula
• Defeat NPC invader Anastasia, Tarnished Eater in Consecrated Snowfield
• Complete Latenna's Quest by delivering her to Apostate Derelict in Consecrated Snowfield 
• In chest under statue near Dynasty Mausoleum Midpoint Site of Grace in Mohgwyn Palace 
• In chest after Prayer Room in Elphael, Brace of the Haligtree 
• Complete Millicent Quest after defeating Malenia, Blade of Miquella and inserting needle into Malenia's secret flower
• On corpse near gargoyle and giant dragon in Leyndell, Ashen Capital

Bosses to defeat

Elden Ring is home to a plethora of bosses to defeat, but Shadow of the Erdtree will require the slaying of just two such great enemies. Specifically (as per FromSoftware boss himself Hidetaka Miyazaki), Starscourge Radahn and Mohg, Lord of Blood will both be required killings for those attempting to access the Land of Shadow. 

Mohg makes perfect sense, given that he stands guard to the DLC's main entrance, which will be Miquella's Egg, stolen from its perch within the Haligtree. To get to Mohg in Mohgwyn Palace, you'll need to either complete Varre's quest, a relatively fun one that introduces you to the world of invasions, or simply traverse to the Consecrated Snowfields and pass through the waygate not too far from the Yelough Anix Tunnel.

As for Radahn, he should need no introduction. His defeat brings a major change to the literal environment of Elden Ring and also directly correlates to several NPC questlines. You'll most likely find this monstrous foe organically, though, for those who haven't, he's located at the southern edge of Caelid on a sweeping battlefield just below Redmane Castle.

Both of these bosses are known for their difficulty, so to be ready for a fight. Mohg will require the use of the Purifying Crystal Tear for your wondrous Physick, allowing you to survive his dangerous second phase blood ritual attack. This item can be scooped up after defeating Eleonora, Violet Bloody Finger at the Second Church of Marika in Altus Plateau.

Mohg is pretty weak to blood damage, despite his use of this very same effect. He's also vulnerable to pierce, slash, standard, and strike damage, so a combination of all these attacks should prove promising — just make sure not to use any fire, as he's strong against it.

Radahn, on the other hand, is far more of a powerhouse, sporting an incredibly large pool of health and much fewer vulnerabilities. The best approach is to leverage pierce and scarlet rot, as he's weakest to these types of attacks. However, don't try to use any holy or sleep damage. You can also summon a variety of NPCs to help in your fight against this monstrous foe, so don't sleep on the help.

More from Tom's Guide

• Civilization 7 is coming in 2025 — here are 5 features I'd love to see return
• PlayStation’s biggest sale of the year ends this week — here’s 19 last chance deals I’d buy
• GameSir Kaleid controller review

Late last year, I got what I like to call the “FromSoftware Itch.” Essentially, this is an intense craving to play one of the Japanese developer's unique brand of challenging action RPGs. After a little deliberation, I settled on replaying Elden Ring as its first DLC expansion, Shadow of the Erdtree Tree, is just around the corner.

I spent most of December and the first half of January blissfully lost in The Lands Between. I even managed to conquer a couple of bosses I missed in my first playthrough at launch in 2022. Replaying Elden Ring was a solid reminder that it’s not just one of the defining titles of this generation, it’s one of my favorite games ever. 

What I didn’t foresee is that replaying Elden Ring so close to the release of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth — which, for the record, was my most anticipated game of the first half of 2024 — would actually harm my experience with this long-awaited sequel to Final Fantasy VII Remake. In some ways, Elden Ring has spoiled Rebirth.

To make it clear, after more than 30 hours with Rebirth, I have plenty of positive things to say about the second chapter of the FFVII Remake project. I adore its loveable cast of characters, highly cinematic combat and its abundance of delightfully fun mini-games. But it has a major weakness that becomes clearer when you’ve got a masterpiece like Elden Ring fresh in your memory.

A map full of markers

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth’s introductory is fairly linear, but after a couple of hours, you emerge from the town of Kalm and are let loose in the first region: The Grasslands. 

Once you step foot in the region's rolling fields you are directed to a small town, and then a Chocobo ranch. And it’s at this ranch, that you’re introduced to World Intel, which is Rebirth’s name for its open-world activities that include enemy camps, hunts for rare resources, and, the old favorite, radio towers that add map markers.   

These activities are among the most bland distractions you’ll find in an open-world game. Pretty much none of the World Intel events are engaging. They serve only to clutter up your map with flashy icons and pad out the game’s runtime — which was largely unnecessary as the main story, and the mostly worthwhile side quests, easily offer more than 50 hours of fun already. That's plenty of content for a $69 release. 

The lone exception is the Phenomenon Intel events. These are multi-part side quests that should exist in a separate category from the other open-world activities which function as little more than busy work for players who want to extend their playthrough.

This type of open-world design, where players are given a map full of icons, and dozens of repetitive objectives to complete for mostly minor rewards felt old-fashioned in the mid-2010s. In a post-Elden Ring and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild gaming world, this approach feels even more antiquated. 

As mentioned, Rebirth offers a handful of genuinely enjoyable side-quests and a whole truckload of engaging mini-games, which only make the World Intel flab feel even more disposable.

Cynically, I’d say these objectives feel like they’ve been included merely to push the game’s 100% completion runtime beyond the 100-hour mark, rather than because they represent engaging content that's worth the player’s time investment.

Elden Ring does open-world different

Honestly, I’m being hard on FFVII Rebirth’s approach to open-world design because shifting from Elden Ring’s more freeform philosophy to Final Fantasy’s feels like taking a backward step.

Elden Ring does not have map markers. There are no climbable towers to unlock new points of interest. You won’t find repeated events dotted all over its various regions, or a literal checklist of objectives permanently fixed to the corner of its map screen. Instead, Elden Ring’s approach to open-world design is all about player exploration and the thrill of natural discovery.

When you step out into Limgrave, the Elden Ring's starting area, the entire world is yours to uncover. You can walk in pretty much any direction and are encouraged to be inquisitive. Yes, the game gently leads you toward major locations via its Sites of Grace checkpoints, but there’s no luminous marker telling you exactly where to go next, or a list in the pause menu of how many bosses you’ve got left to beat. 

When playing Elden Ring, I feel like I’m on a grand adventure, exploring a vast world just to see what I might find in its labyrinthine caves and crumbling castle ruins. Whereas in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, my experience of the open world has been the polar opposite. I don’t feel compelled to explore, I’m just walking from one repetitive task to the next with no real sense that I’m unearthing the world’s hidden secrets. 

Without spoilers, I’m now well beyond the Grasslands in my Final Fantasy VII Rebirth playthrough, but even the game’s later regions offer up the same bland World Intel activities, and to be honest, I’ve started skipping the majority of them. Instead, I’ve been focusing on the side quests when I want to take a break from the main story.

I should stress, that the problem outlined above isn’t unique to Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. Many open-world games before it suffered from the same problem, and I’m sure many more upcoming releases will fall into the same trap as well. But when games like Elden Ring have shown the value of a less repetitive open world, it’s hard to return to chasing map markers.

More from Tom's Guide

• Final Fantasy VII Rebirth review: A must-own PS5 exclusive
• EA just canceled Respawn’s Star Wars FPS — which is a tragedy
• Final Fantasy VII Rebirth made me love mini-games again — here’s how

“Shadow of the Erdtree,” the first DLC penned for FromSoftware’s “Elden Ring,” is finally granted an over 3-minute long trailer highlighting what you'll face throughout the Land of Shadow in tandem with an official debut of June 21.

The trailer gifts only a tiny glimpse of various enemy encounters, “Berserk” references, new weapon arts and the all-too-familiar prevalence of demigod Miquella, brother to Malenia, one of “Elden Ring’s” most notorious bosses. 

“Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree” was first announced in a post on X (formerly Twitter) almost a year to the day, back in Feb. 2023. With all but a mere piece of concept art showing a female on the back of a horse overlooking a devastated Erdtree steeped in golden flame. The post enticed the fandom but did little to detail what to expect from the DLC.

Now, the prayers to Queen Marika have finally been answered. We're treated to lengthy bits of gameplay and narrative. An official release date also gives long-awaiting Tarnished something to look forward to. If that wasn’t enough, a full Collector’s Edition and base DLC preorder are up for purchase at various retailers.

 A war-torn Land of Shadow ripped asunder 

The trailer for “Shadow of the Erdtree” opens with a shot of the aforementioned Miquella encased in the egg withheld in Mohgwyn’s Palace. From there, the video cuts to all-new places scattered about this mysterious Land of Shadow, wherein as Bandai Namco’s blog post reads, “the goddess Marika first set foot.”

It seems this new area has been wrought by a terrible war led by what will most likely be one of the primary bosses, Messmer the Impaler. Those interested can even purchase Messmer's helmet from Bandai Namco's store.

Miquella will lead you through this new land, which will be manifested in golden lines that stretch from Sites of Grace, akin to the base game. Miquella himself and the goddess Marika will play a major part in the DLC's narrative, as you dive headlong into this new war-torn area.

The Land of Shadow is somehow lost from the Lands Between, or disconnected, despite still being held within this same world. You'll journey to this land via the aforementioned cocoon housing Miquella, which is shown in the very first shot of the trailer, as “Elden Ring” director, Hidetaka Miyazaki, asserts in an interview with IGN.

“Shadow of the Erdtree” will be FromSoftware’s largest DLC to date, encompassing many various areas within a new map that will be “larger than Limgrave.” There are a total of 10 major bosses utilizing up to eight new weapon categories added to “Elden Ring’s” arsenal.

Miyazaki explains that the DLC will be far more challenging, likening the entire experience to Malenia’s renowned difficulty. The director adds that the team aimed to ramp up the difficulty so that you have “a lot of freedom of approach.” Additionally, the world will be far more interconnected, with “a denser and richer level design.”

FromSoftware producer and marketing lead Yasuhiro Kitao also released a poster of the forthcoming "Elden Ring" expansion in a post on X (formerly Twitter). The image features a shot of Messmer the Impaler seated on a throne with the golden delipidated Erdtree rising from a world engulfed in flames in the background. 

“Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree” is set to release June 21 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, and PC.

More from Tom's Guide

• Elden Ring vs. Breath of the Wild: Here's why I keep going back to Zelda
• 10 best games to play after Elden Ring
• Elden Ring’s Colosseum free update is out tomorrow — everything you need to know

We may not have long to wait for Elden Ring's next major expansion, Shadow of the Erdtree. This week, eagle-eyed fans spotted some promising mentions of the highly anticipated DLC — including, in close proximity, the words "DLC" and "Release" as well as a reference to quality assessment testing — in an update to Elden Ring on Steam's online gaming marketplace. 

On Friday, February 2, several Reddit users uncovered a variety of new file depots that were added to the Elden Ring Steam backend, each sporting promising names like "dev_debug,” “dev_release,” “qa_debug,” and “qa_release.” One depot named "pd-10” has been a particular subject of speculation, as some fans suggest "pd" could refer to a "playable demo" for the expansion. 

While Shadow of the Erdtree is not mentioned by name, it's the most likely suspect for the update's multiple references to "DLC." The SteamDB file for Elden Ring is now listed as being in "QA release," which pretty clearly indicates that developer From Software is testing some sort of update. Several more changes have been made to Elden Ring's game files since the news started making the rounds on Reddit.

This should all be taken with a grain of salt for now as From Software has yet to confirm Shadow of the Erdtree's official release date. However, these developments in the backend seem to support long-circulating rumors of a February 2024 launch window. That date would also align with the two-year anniversary of Elden Ring's launch. 

This comes after even more clues of the DLC's imminent release date have come to light in recent weeks. Elden Ring's Steam DB page includes a DLC tab containing extra downloadable content, such as the adventure guide and digital art book. Under that tab, another update titled "SteamDB Unknown App 2778580" was added in January — the first since the addition of a pre-order bonus bundle in May 2022.

A December leak revealed publisher Bandai Namco is teaming up with peripheral manufacturer Thrustmaster to purportedly release several limited edition controllers themed around the game, as reported by Eurogamer. Promotional material, which was presumably released by mistake, claims the first batch of controllers would arrive in February to "sync with the new Shadow of the Erdtree expansion release".

For Elden Ring fans who have long beaten the main game, this DLC can't come a moment too soon. Hopefully, Shadow of the Erdtree will prove to be a challenge worth waiting for. 

More from Tom's Guide

• I’ve found the perfect PS5 game for winter — here’s why you need to play Persona 3 Reload right now
• Sony could finally be making a new PlayStation handheld
• The Best Picture Oscar nominees make the greatest video game stories look like amateur hour — here’s why

The Soulslike genre has become pretty oversaturated in recent years, as more and more developers aim to imitate the trademark style of Dark Souls and Elden Ring developer FromSoftware. 

So, it’s fair to say that I approached playing Lies of P on PS5 with fairly muted expectations. However, within the first hour, I was intrigued; by the fifth I was hooked; and now as I rapidly approach the 30-hour mark, I’m seriously debating where this game stacks up in my current GOTY ranking. 

Yes, Lies of P is almost shamelessly attempting to ape Bloodborne — the 2015 FromSoftware-developed action RPG that shares DNA with the Souls games — but imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. And if you’re going to imitate any game it might as well be one almost universally considered among the best PS4 games ever made. 

Much like its inspiration, Lies of P can be brutally punishing, but if you’re willing to meet its challenges, it provides moments of elation that only a select few games can match. Developer Neowiz Games has crafted a Bloodborne clone that coalesces into an experience that is so much more than a cheap knock-off. My initial skepticism was unwarranted. Lies of P is the real deal, and it’s all I want to play right now. 

No strings on this puppet 

If you haven’t heard already, Lies of P is loosely based on Carlo Collodi’s The Adventures of Pinocchio, but don’t expect to find an animated singing cricket in this take on the beloved fantasy novel. However, you do play as a puppet — one who is capable of lying — and you begin your journey in the gothic city of Krat on a quest to find your creator, Geppetto. 

One of the pillars of a Souls-style game is a somewhat ambiguous story, mostly told via environmental clues and collectible notes, but Lies of P opts for a more traditional plot format. And that makes for a central narrative that I’ve found significantly more engaging than the ones presented in the likes of Dark Souls. 

That’s not to say that players who thoroughly explore levels won’t be rewarded with greater context either. The memorable environments you traverse are littered with interesting lore items, and there are plenty of extra details to uncover if you’re willing to stop and poke around in every single dark corner of Krat. 

Speaking of Krat, Lies of P’s main setting takes clear cues from Bloodborne’s Yharnam, but manages to be memorable in its own right, even if it’s not a a totally original location. On your quest to stop an army of rampaging puppets, you’ll explore everything from a steampunk factory where sinister constructs are created, to a World’s Fair museum that showcases impressive technological advancements — although many of the exhibits will spring to life and try to murder you.  

Fighting against the darkness 

Of course, Lies of P isn’t just about wandering through well-realized locations and picking up compelling collectibles. Each of the game’s tightly-crafted levels is absolutely stuffed with intimidating enemies that will tear you to shreds if you’re not thinking strategically. 

Again, much like Bloodborne, the pace of combat in Lies of P favors fast reflexes and aggressive attacking. The game encourages you to attack enemies quickly, and when you take a hit rather than retreat to lick your wounds, strike back in order to recover a little bit of your lost health. This pacing suits my preferred playstyle well and results in enemy encounters that will really get your adrenaline flowing.  

Lies of P doesn’t offer the build diversity of a game like Elden Ring, but you are still given plenty of ways to customize your protagonist to suit your preferred method of attack. The game's most novel system comes in the form of weapons that can be disassembled into two parts and then mashed together to create new combinations. 

Splicing together a Frankenstein creation of two seemingly mismatched weapon halves can prove to be highly effective. However, other combos might sound good in theory but in practice are significantly less useful. But there’s no resource cost to experimentation as you can assemble and dismantle weapons without penalty. 

You also have a metallic arm that can be swapped out with various damage-dealing effects such as the ability to spit flames or an attachment that lets you shoot an explosive bolt. Plus, there’s the expected toolbox of consumable items and a skill tree that will have you agonizing for ages over which new abilities to select with your limited pool of upgrade points. 

This is all to say that Lies of P gives you plenty of ways to make your Pinocchio feel distinct. And that’s very good news because being able to rework your loadout is practically essential when you hit a progression roadblock and can’t quite overcome one of the game’s numerous hulking bosses. And that's an experience that I suspect most players will likely face at some point.   

Pushing through the pain 

Speaking of challenging bosses, there are plenty awaiting players in Lies of P. While I would say the game falls on the easier side of the Souls scale — judging by developer interviews this appears to be intentional — there are a few encounters where the difficulty spikes pretty significantly. And in these moments your abilities (and perhaps sanity) will be seriously tested. 

In fact, a mid-game boss battle gave me so much trouble that after two straight hours of failure, I (briefly) considered permanently walking away in defeat. However, after receiving some sage words from a helpful PR representative, and after experimenting with a new weapon, I was eventually able to bring the foe down. The feeling of pure victory was so intense that I’m still basking in it several days later. 

That feeling will be very familiar to veteran Souls players, and like with so many entries in the Soulslike genre, it’s what constantly drives you forward in Lies of P. You won’t have any relaxing play sessions if you choose to step into Krat and face its many dangers, but as you inch through each gorgeous level and come closer to the final boss, each victory stays with you and feels worth the struggle.  

Chasing that victory high is compelling and almost never infuriating. That’s because Lies of P does an impressive job of pretty much always staying on the right side of the fine line between frustration and fun. This is thanks in large part because the majority of bosses are very well crafted with imposing designs and absolutely epic music accompanying them. Rather than dreading each new terrifying titan who stood in my way, I relish the chance to face another colossal foe.  

Lies of P is a surprise GOTY contender 

Lies of P definitely doesn’t win any points for originality. It’s a blatant attempt to mimic what has made the works of FromSoftware, and more specifically Bloodborne, so successful over the last decade. However, it achieves what it sets out to with real confidence, and the lack of new ideas feels largely irrelevant because the game accompanies its objective so successfully. 

If you have any fondness for the Soulslike genre, then Lies of P falls squarely into the essential category. Its fluid combat, satisfying challenge, captivating world, interesting story and large variety of weapons bond together to form a game that comes the closest yet to capturing the magic of FromSoftware’s legendary titles. 

This year has been pretty darn incredible for gaming, and Lies of P is yet another new release to throw onto the increasingly long list of must-play games in 2023. Just a few months ago I certainly didn’t expect that Lies of P would be forcing its way into my personal Game of the Year ranking, but that’s exactly what has happened.      

More from Tom's Guide

• PS5 Pro — rumors and everything we know so far
• Starfield on the world's best OLED TV looks incredible — you need to see this
• Nvidia GeForce Now Ultimate could end the era of high-end gaming PCs

Steam has posted the minimum PC specs for the upcoming mech-based shooter Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon, and it could be great for Valve’s Steam Deck. 

For those unfamiliar with the Armored Core series, it’s somewhat of a cult classic made by developer FromSoftware before the studio became renowned for making the so-called "Soulsborne" games, the latest of which is Elden Ring. Unlike the Souls games, Armored Core is all about battling in big robot-like mechs, though you can see the genesis of some Souls elements in the games, such as managing energy levels and gaining an edge with smart weapon choices. 

After the huge success of Elden Ring, Armored Core 6, which is due to release on August 25, is gathering attention from people familiar with the series as well as newcomers who are keen to see what FromSoft does with its next game. I fall into the latter camp and certainly have a curiosity about Armored Core 6. 

Not least of all because the minimum specs to run Armored Core 6 on PC are similar to those required for Elden Ring, which means Armored Core 6 could run well on the Steam Deck, Valve's handheld gaming console. 

While Elden Ring looks best at full settings on either a powerful PC or the PS5 and Xbox Series X, the game's art style still appeals at lower settings. So, with a few tweaks, it can be made to run at playable frame rates on the Steam Deck. And the same could be true for Armored Core 6. 

The minimum PC specs are as follows: 

• OS: Windows 10 (64-bit) 
• CPU: Intel Core i5-8600K or AMD Ryzen 3 3300X
• Memory: 12GB of RAM
• Graphics card: Nvidia GeForce GTX 960 (4GB of RAM), AMD Radeon RX 480 (4GB of RAM), Intel Arc A380 (6GB of RAM)
• DirectX: Version 12
• Storage: 65GB of available space

Now, I’ll caveat all this by saying there’s no Steam Deck certification for Armored Core 6 at the moment, so I don’t suggest you pre-order it if you only intend to play it on the Steam Deck. But going by the modest minimum spec requirements, I’m somewhat hopeful that Armored Core 6 will play nice with the Steam Deck. And it could also work well on the Asus ROG Ally, which has proven to be a fairly capable handheld gaming PC, albeit with a few caveats. 

If you want something to play on the Steam Deck right now, then our News Editor Alyse Stanley recommends Dredge, Computing Writer Tony Polanco has some favorable words about Marvel's Spider-Man on the Steam Deck and freelancer extraordinaire Alan Martin has been enjoying Rustler — or Grand Theft Horsey as he coined it. And I’m currently using my Steam Deck to play Disco Elysium, which is nothing short of brilliant. 

More from Tom's Guide

• Here are 5 tweaks I make to improve my OLED gaming monitor
• I tried the Chicken McNugget handheld — and Tetris will never be the same again
• Asus ROG Ally vs Steam Deck: Which handheld wins?

Elden Ring is easily one of the best games of 2022. But if you bought the game when it launched in February, you’ve probably already finished it by now — maybe more than once. While the base game is a huge and rich experience, the developers haven’t provided much incentive for returning players.

That should all change tomorrow (Dec. 7), when Elden Ring’s Free Colosseum Update goes live.

The Free Colosseum Update is precisely what it sounds like: a free piece of downloadable content (DLC) that adds a player-versus-player Colosseum mode to the game. Publisher Bandai Namco posted a minute-long trailer for the update today on its official YouTube channel, which we’ve embedded below:

Like Elden Ring itself, the trailer is atmospheric and laconic. The publisher did provide a little more information in the description, however:

“The Colosseums of Limgrave, Leyndell and Caelid will open their gates, allowing players to engage in battles such as duels, free-for-alls and team fights.”

In other words, Elden Ring players will be able to explore three different Colosseum areas and hone their PvP skills with other willing combatants. The update is free, as its name suggests, and represents version 1.08 of the game. The only thing we don’t know is exactly when the patch will go live, but if you boot up Elden Ring at some point tomorrow, it should download automatically.

At present, Elden Ring already has a thriving PvP community, thanks to robust multiplayer options and a fan base that’s active on social media. Still, the Colosseum mode will formalize the whole process, helping to differentiate players who want to duel, from players who want to engage in team fights, from players who want to invade other worlds for the thrill of the hunt.

As befits Elden Ring, Bandai Namco did not specify exactly how the Colosseum modes will work, or what each different location will offer. Players will have to try things out for themselves and share notes — and based on what we know about the Elden Ring community, they’ll be happy to do just that. If you want to know exactly how the Colosseum mode works, there should be a pretty good breakdown by next week. Or you could just dive in yourself and see how far you get.

If you want more stories about Elden Ring, you can also learn about why the game’s director tries not to listen to fan feedback.

Elden Ring has been a surefire game of the year contender ever since it launched back in February, and by now, just about everyone knows it. Reviewers showered it in accolades, and gamers bought it in droves. The game’s director, Hidetaka Miyazaki, is well aware of just how successful Elden Ring has been. However, while he appreciates how much fans love the game, he’s cautious about listening too closely to their feedback.

Miyazaki spoke with Japanese gaming publication Famitsu about Elden Ring’s success, and VGC translated the proceedings. Elden Ring recently won two PlayStation Partner Awards, including a coveted Users’ Choice award, and Miyazaki was thrilled. “I am very grateful and feel honored,” he said.

At the same time, the longtime FromSoftware director wants to keep his creative process from getting bogged down with too many outside suggestions:

“I try not to think about [the game’s success] too much, because it could become a distraction when I make the next project … Personally, I try not to look directly at user feedback,” Miyazaki said. “That’s because I can’t listen to all the users’ opinions. I’m afraid that if I do, the voices and opinions I happen to hear will have a strong influence on my future decisions, so I’m careful not to put other opinions directly into my own mind.”

What's after Elden Ring?

As for what Miyazaki’s next project is, he hasn’t said. Earlier this year, the game’s publisher Bandai Namco hinted that Elden Ring would not be a standalone piece of media. According to a company representative, “We will continue our efforts in expanding the brand beyond the game itself and into everyone’s daily life.” Whether that means a DLC expansion, a full sequel, a comic book tie-in, or something else entirely is up for interpretation.

Still, even if Miyazaki doesn’t want to internalize too much fan feedback, he did express his gratitude for Elden Ring’s warm reception, particularly from first-time From players.

“There are many people who first played the same genre (Demon’s Souls, Dark Souls series, etc.) with Elden Ring … I remember feeling really happy when I experienced Demon’s Souls for the first time,” he said. “It’s an exciting title to discover, and we’ve had an increase in new users. I was personally happy to hear that kind of feedback.”

With its open-world design and bevy of unique character builds, Elden Ring is indeed one of the more accessible games in From’s series of brutal action/RPGs. The difficulty curve is still high, and the game can be punishing at times. However, if social media is anything to go by, many players who bounced off of Dark Souls were able to complete Elden Ring. If you’re one of those stalwart players, then you’ve made the game’s director a happy man.

Elden Ring is probably a contender for one of my favorite games of all time. Why am I about to wax lyrical about it nine months after its release? Well, it didn't fully grab me at first. 

From the moment my character emerged blinking into the sunlight of Limgrave, I understood the brilliance of Elden Ring. There stood a whole world for me to explore — and I mean genuinely explore, with no markers festooning the map like in an Ubisoft game. There was a real sense of adventure. But I’m a coward. 

I’ve completed only one FromSoftware game in my life, and that’s the excellent Bloodborne. It was a tough, but fascinating, slog. But my sense of what a Souls-like game is meant to be only kicked in after I'd played through about one-quarter of it. 

My problem, as many other gamers have pointed out, is that FromSoftware's recent clutch of games are hard. Very hard at times. As in, "throw-your-controller-across-the-room-with-frustration" hard. I like a challenge, but constantly feeling like I’m on the backfoot, especially in a world where the story and gameplay are so opaque, means I’m not immediately enamored by Soulsborne games.

In Elden Ring, I got my virtual backside handed to me a few times by a chunky knight or a vicious dog. And my fear of losing my hard-earned runes, Elden Ring's currency, meant that I made glacially slow progress through the game’s opening areas. Add in the intimidating array of items, abilities and systems to learn — some more obscure than others — as well as the vast map, and I felt a little intimidated by Elden Ring.

The game also arrived at a time when I had Horizon Forbidden West to play though, as well as other games competing for my attention. I’d often find that I needed to be in the right mood to play Elden Ring, as it was far easier to dip into Forbidden West and polish off a few side quests than to inch my way through a forest with gigantic bears that move at frightening speeds.

My character's build didn't help, either. I opted to go for a sword and shield, levelling up strength and dexterity into what I later learned is known as a “Quality” build. This was fine, but something was missing. My two-handed sword-and-shield combo was solid, but uninspired.

While I wasn't put off Elden Ring, per se, my aversion to getting stuck, having other games to play, and some sweltering summer heat stopped me from hunkering down and sinking all my gaming attention into FromSoft’s epic RPG.

The joy of dex (and magic) 

But then September came, and I decided to break my self-imposed rule of figuring out Elden Ring for myself. I decided to indulge in a few guides on the game's best builds and weapons.

I learned at some point that I could "respec" my character, allowing me to reassign stat points so that I wouldn't be stuck with my sword and shield. And I found the Bloodhound’s Fang sword, which inflicts "bleed" damage and scales up alongside the dexterity stat.

After dabbling with with a few other items and tools, suddenly, I found myself drawn into Elden Ring. I then indulged in a few lore videos, such as those from YouTuber VaatiVidya, who makes a living uncovering the lore and stories of FromSoftware games. Now, I was starting to get hooked.

After a certain point in the game, I managed to rework my character into a dexterity-and-intelligence-focused spell-slinging, katana-wielding warrior. 

Now, I was able to deal plenty of damage in a variety of ways. I was still playing cautiously, but I did take a few more risks and started making much more progress through the game. Elden Ring grabbed me, and now it won't let go. 

Sure, I still get flattened by some enemies, and I'm hopeless at fighting dogs. But sniping giant crows with the Loretta’s Greatbow spell, then closing in to deal rapid damage with the Uchigatana and the Moonveil Katana, feels incredibly satisfying.

When the action simmers down, the world of the Lands Between is just a joy to explore. It’s not as dark and dank as the destroyed worlds of Dark Souls, offering more high fantasy elements, with a mix of dark horror and occasional bouts of existential dread. There’s always something interesting around the corner, often telling you more about the story through inference and intimation.

Speaking of which, the story feels a little easier to grasp than those in other Soulsborne games, and George R.R, Martin’s influence is evident in some of the backstory. It’s compelling stuff, and it doesn't hurt that a lot of the characters have Welsh accents, which puts a smile on this Welshman’s tired face.

I also have the excellent God of War Ragnarök to play, which will no doubt grab my full attention before too long. But this weekend, Elden Ring is calling, and I can already hear that deceptively bombastic menu music in my ears.

Elden Ring's director doesn't want to let fan feedback color his ideas for the next FromSoftware project too much.

Summer is a good time to be a PC gamer, as there are often major games sales with killer discounts. And the latest of these comes from retailer Fanatical. 

Right now, there are more than 6,000 games on sale at Fanatical, offering discounts of up to 95%. That means you can save a serious amount on some very impressive games, including Elden Ring reduced by 12% and the Assassin’s Creed Valhalla: Complete Edition on sale for $63 having been reduced from $140. Just bear in mind that these deals are only available for a limited time, with some lasting just a few hours. 

Fanatical's Red Hot Sale includes a huge range of discounted PC games which come with Steam codes, meaning as soon as you make a purchase you can get to downloading the games you’ve just got. 

While there are plenty of individual games for sale, we recommend taking a look at some of the bundles on offer, as these can help you fill in a hole in your PC games collection without the need to spend a fortunate. For example, the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Complete Bundle gives you all three of the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. games at a 66% reduction, meaning you’ll have plenty to keep you going while you wait for S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl. 

It's also worth looking for special editions of games, as these will give you all of a game's extra content for a lot less than usual. For example, Civilization VI Platinum Edition has 82% off, cutting the price of the game from $119 to $21.

At a time when the best PS5 games can go for $70 and the best Xbox Series X games are hardly cheap either, PC gaming can be a more affordable way to bag yourself a suite of high-quality titles, though we'd also recommend you play them on one of our picks for the best gaming PC or best gaming laptop. 

Fanatical's sale won't last forever, but the good news is that Amazon Prime Day is just around the corner, meaning there'll be plenty more deals on tech, games and more in the run up to the event and peaking on July 12/13.

If you’ve decided Elden Ring isn’t immersive enough, and you’d rather face the eldritch monsters up close, you’re in luck. Unofficial virtual reality support is coming to Elden Ring’s PC version as early as next week, thanks to a new mod from Luke Ross.

Ross has already made a name for himself in the modding community, adding VR support to a wide range of PC games. Previous efforts include adding VR modes to Cyberpunk 2077, Red Dead Redemption 2, Horizon Zero Dawn and others. Now Elden Ring players are getting their own chance to play the game like never before.

Ross posted a brief preview of the mode on YouTube, showcasing some of the things you can expect from Elden Ring VR — including pop-ups, combat, and the general movement around the game’s open world.

Over on the Real VR patreon, Ross admitted that Elden Ring VR “will likely be a work-in-progress for quite some time," but is aiming to have a playable version ready “by the end of next week." The post went live on April 22, meaning the mode should be available by May 8, if all goes according to plan.

Ross also warned that people should “keep your VR legs in shape, because they’re really going to be put to the test." 

Considering the preview video made me feel a little woozy, that doesn’t surprise me. Looks like my inclination towards motion sickness, especially where VR is concerned, means I’ll definitely be sitting this one out.

Ross also told PC Gamer that you won’t be limited to playing in the first person perspective, with the VR mod preserving the original third person camera view. However, it’s not recommended you play like this, down to the fact VR doesn’t work so well when camera is so far away from the player’s avatar — around 5 meters on average. 

“Instead of being in the thick of action, you're kind of like 'Hey, is something going on over there?',” Ross said. “Nevertheless, I'm going to leave the original camera as an option for purists. I'll probably also add an intermediate, close-third-person camera. But I think the first-person camera is where it's at."

As for Elden Ring’s more acrobatic moves, like rolling, Ross has come up with a novel solution to prevent motion sickness from taking you out of it:  "When rolling or performing other scripted animations like the combat moves, the camera follows the character's head (so its position changes) but it remains oriented correctly according to what your head is doing in real life. So the horizon will stay level and the world will always look stable."

If you like the idea of exploring the Land’s Between in first person VR, then you’ll need to subscribe to the Real VR Patreon for access. It’s $10 a month, and gives you immediate access to all Ross’s early development VR mods. 

Update: Unofficial mod support is coming to Elden Ring, here's everything you need to know

Elden Ring patch 1.04 is rolling out now and it brings with it a host of performance improvements and weapon/ability balance tweaks, and even a smattering of new content. 

You can read the full patch notes here, but players running a mage build will be particularly happy with this latest update — because magic attacks have been significantly buffed. Spells including Crystal Barrage, Grave of Haima, Shatter Earth, Ranni's Dark Moon, and Rennala's Full Moon can now be cast more quickly, and recovery time has been reduced as well. 

Magic was already an extremely powerful tool in Elden Ring, and thanks to this patch, it’ll be even more potent against the game’s most challenging enemies and bosses. Additional buffs and balancing tweaks contained in this update include Colossal Swords now dealing even more damage. 

As with previous Elden Ring patches, update 1.04 also expands one of the game's NPC questlines. In this case, it’s the quest given to you by beloved Souls character Patches, whose story has been further fleshed out with new dialogue phases and events. It does seem a little strange that base game quests are being expanded almost two months after launch, but it’s hard to complain about new content being added for free, even if the addition is a minor one. 

The other big component of this patch is, of course, a wide assortment of performance improvements and bug fixes. Like almost all gigantic open-world games, Elden Ring launched with plenty of glitches, but thankfully developer From Software is continuing to fix them post-launch. While these bug-fixing patches are much appreciated, it should be noted that Elden Ring was released in a perfectly acceptable and very playable state, on console at least. 

If you're still making your way through the Lands Between we’ve got plenty of advice to help make your difficult journey a little easier. We’ve got Elden Ring tips for beginners, as well as some sage Elden Ring advice for intermediate and advanced players. You'll also find a guide on how to get all six Elden Ring endings and if you’re reaching the end of your adventure, we can help you find the best games to play after Elden Ring.

Elden Ring has taken the world by storm, with some calling it the best open-world game ever. For many, myself included, the game to hold that title previously was The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. The comparison between these two games has struck quite the conversation in some circles.

As for me, I really enjoy both. They're each incredible games that can really make the time fly by. But a friend asked me which one I think is better and I'm hard-pressed to come up with answer. Now that the honeymoon period has ended for both games (several years in Breath of the Wild's case), I wanted to try to answer that question.

Remember that we all enjoy different things to varying degrees, so my experience may not mirror yours. 

How Elden Ring and Breath of the Wild compare

Breath of the Wild sees Link try to tackle the vast expanse of Hyrule in the biggest Zelda game to date. It's also the most somber of any of the series that I've played, getting darker than Twilight Princess did in some places. To help you keep some sanity while exploring the world, you get a quest tracker with waypoints to guide you.

In contrast, Elden Ring does no such handholding, sometimes to its detriment. Like any other recent FromSoftware game, Elden Ring is very dark fantasy — bordering on grimdark depending on your perspective — and it pulls no punches. The world is in a bad spot and you're left to pick up the pieces in your quest to become the Elden Lord.

You don't really play either game to feel happy, since both take place after an apocalypse. Breath of the Wild hits you over the head with memories and sorrow, while Elden Ring bludgeons with you with hopelessness. Which style I prefer depends on my mood on a given day.

Both games give you a massive world to explore and drop you into the deep end with naught but a halfhearted wish for good luck. You will find that you quickly die in either instance. Breath of the Wild even throws temperature extremes at you, with Link needing special equipment to survive the cold peaks, the hot Gerudo Desert or the fiery air of Death Mountain. Elden Ring asks no such thing of you.

But these two games differ wildly in presentation. While we can chalk up some artistic differences to Breath of the Wild needing to run on the criminally underpowered Switch (and not very well at that), Elden Ring adopts a grimmer, grittier tone, even with the golden Erdtree shining in the distance. Breath of the Wild looks more lighthearted with a very Nintendo-style design.

I can't shake the Elden Ring fatigue

I've loved every FromSoftware game since Demon's Souls (go to hell, Flamelurker) and I've cleared each one since multiple times. I love Dark Souls 3 and Bloodborne, so I'm used to how the Soulsborne games don't let up. Getting to a bonfire or a lantern is an absolute godsend, a chance to let out that breath I'd been holding while my health and healing items slowly dwindled.

So imagine my shock and even unease when I started to figure out that Elden Ring left me positively exhausted. I was so fatigued that I couldn't make myself turn on my PC to play the game. I went a week without touching it. Every time I thought about loading back into the Lands Between, my heart sank.

Furthermore, I grew distressed by what was obviously burnout. I love Elden Ring, but even after a two-week break, I cannot imagine myself going back to it. Meanwhile, Breath of the Wild has captured my attention again. Part of why is that I can play on my Switch in my living room while my wife watches TV versus me playing on my PC in the basement.

But the game feels much more approachable than Elden Ring. I can pick it up, mess around, save, and put my Switch to sleep. Elden Ring feels like a huge time investment, especially since my exploration thus far has amounted to more duds than treasures. Since I never finished Breath of the Wild way back when, I'm excited to find more towers and explore things that look so far distant.

When I think about Elden Ring, once the irrational guilt for not playing subsides, I only want to play Breath of the Wild — if I want to play a video game at all. I won't deny that I'm generally burnt out and perhaps that might have something to do with my Elden Ring fatigue. However, Breath of the Wild is a much more relaxed experience for me and I find myself preferring it over the constant weight of Elden Ring.

Like I said, I've put hundreds of hours into FromSoftware games. Sister Friede in Dark Souls 3 alone has counted for several. But when I hear about people putting 100+ hours into Elden Ring, my heart drops. While I'm perfectly capable of devoting that much time to a single-player game, such as I did for Cyberpunk 2077, I struggle to foresee myself doing the same for Elden Ring. Breath of the Wild? I'm already well on my way to that benchmark.

Elden Ring vs. Breath of the Wild: Outlook

Elden Ring is probably the best video game I've ever played. It's everything I could have wanted from a follow-up to Soulsborne. But the fatigue I've experienced is not one I've felt for a single-player game since my ill-fated attempt to find Red Dead Redemption 2 interesting. The closest I've ever come to this is my love-hate relationship with Destiny 2.

Yet I find myself drawn more to Breath of the Wild. It's a lot easier to pick up and play without fuss and while it can be challenging, it wears on me less than the constant knowledge that I will invariably meet my demise somewhere along Elden Ring's many roads. That's an odd feeling for me as a huge FromSoftware fanboy. 

So to go back to my friend's question of which game is "better," I had hoped that while writing this I would have an answer. I don't. My gut says that Elden Ring is superior with way better combat and higher stakes. However, I cannot deny that Breath of the Wild has become my preference and has honestly instilled a stronger sense of wonder than Elden Ring has.

Will I ever return to the Lands Between and take on the horrors that lie within? I can't say. Maybe the fatigue will eventually wear off if I take a long enough break, but I have this sinking feeling that Elden Ring will be the first FromSoftware game that I never finish.

Elden Ring is a long and difficult game, but it doesn’t go on forever. After a few dozen hours, you’ll find yourself ready to face down the final boss and usher in a new age for the Lands Between. However, like other Soulsborne games, Elden Ring doesn’t just offer one static ending. Depending on your story and gameplay choices, you can see up to six different resolutions. The default ending is relatively simple to get, but the rest all involve complicated quest chains.

In this piece, we’ll explore how to get each Elden Ring ending, keeping spoilers to an absolute minimum. Before we start, however, it’s worth noting that you can get only one ending per playthrough. If you want to see every single variant, you’ll have to play through the game six times, or perform some cloud-save trickery to make backups.

If you’re just going for achievements/trophies, however, you’ll have to beat the game only three times. While there are technically six possible endings, four of them are variants on a theme, while the other two are completely different.

How to get the Elden Lord ending

First, let’s start with the simplest ending, known as “Elden Lord.” To get this ending, all you have to do is finish the game normally. You don’t have to take on any protracted questlines; you don’t have to follow any arcane advice from non-player characters. Just play through the game normally, and choose to “Mend the Elden Ring” in the end. It’s what every major character in the game has foreshadowed since the beginning, so there are no big surprises here. This is also called the “Age of Fracture” ending.

How to get the Elden Lord variant endings

If you’d rather see some payoff for Elden Ring’s various questlines, there are three more complicated variants on the Elden Lord ending.

To get the Age of Duskborn ending, complete Fia’s questline and use the Mending Rune of the Death-Prince after the final boss. Without rehashing her entire quest here, Fia is the woman in Roundtable Hold who wears a blue dress and offers to embrace you. Talk to her frequently on your Roundtable visits, and she’ll eventually give you directives.

To get the Blessing of Despair ending, complete the Dung Eater’s questline and use the Mending Rune of the Fell Curse after the final boss. The Dung Eater occupies Roundtable Hold after you reach the Altus Plateau, and you’ll have to gather hard-to-find Seedbed Curse items to satisfy his quest conditions. Be warned that this is a pretty dark ending.

To get the Age of Order ending, complete Brother Corhyn’s questline and use the Mending Rune of Perfect Order after the final boss. You’ll meet Brother Corhyn in Roundtable Hold, but he’ll depart after a while. Follow him to the Altus Highway Junction, and he’ll give you further instructions from there.

How to get the Age of Stars ending

The Age of Stars ending is quite different from the Elden Lord endings. It’s not quite as thematically airtight, but it does contain some intriguing references to other FromSoftware works. It also lets you spend more time with the captivating witch Ranni, and who doesn’t want that?

To get the Age of Stars ending, you’ll have to complete Ranni the witch’s questline, which is long and elaborate. But you’ll also get some terrific rewards, including the iconic Dark Moon Greatsword. After you beat the final boss, choose to summon Ranni, and she’ll take it from there.

How to get the Frenzied Flame ending

The Frenzied Flame ending is probably the strangest one that Elden Ring has to offer. It’s also the most difficult to trigger. Your maiden, Melina, will actually abandon you if you pursue the Frenzied Flame ending, just to give you an idea of how far off the beaten path you’ll have to go.

Still, if you want it, you’ll have to traverse a few optional areas and fight a tough boss. Find the Subterranean Shunning Grounds underneath Leyndell, Royal Capital, then explore them until you reach the very bottom. There, you’ll fight Mohg, the Omen. (You might want to wait until late-game to do this. He hits pretty hard, but he’s manageable if you have high levels and upgraded equipment.)

Be sure to rest at the Site of Lost Grace first, as the next part is tricky. The altar in Mohg’s chamber is actually a false wall, so roll toward it and follow the path forward. From here, you’ll have to descend a steep and complicated collection of crossbeams and jutting tombstones, and one false move will send you plummeting to your death. It’ll probably take a few tries.

Once you reach the bottom, Melina will give you one last warning. If you’re intent on ignoring her, remove all of your equipment, including your weapons and talismans, and stand in front of the huge door. You’ll obtain the Burning Scar, which is about as dramatic as it sounds.

After you beat the final boss, choose to “Become the Lord of Frenzied Flame,” and prepare for the chaos.

Incidentally, if you change your mind after getting the Burning Scar, there is one way to undo the damage. You’ll have to explore Miquella’s Haligtree and fight the optional, ultra-difficult boss Malenia, Blade of Miquella. When you defeat her, you’ll receive an item called Miquella’s Needle.

In Crumbling Farum Azula, you’ll come across a boss called Dragonlord Placidusax. In his arena, you can use the needle to undo the Frenzied Flame, leaving the Elden Lord and Age of Stars endings open. Melina won’t come back to your service, however.

Once you've completed all the endings, here are 10 games you can play after Elden Ring. 

The best weapons in Elden Ring depend entirely on how you play the game. That might sound like a copout, but it’s true. Elden Ring is all about how you build your character, how you upgrade your gear and how you explore the Lands Between. To say that there’s a “best weapon” in the game is a little bit like saying there’s a “best character build” or a “best boss fight.” Truthfully, the best weapon in Elden Ring is the one you feel the most comfortable with.

Still, some weapons are more powerful than others, particularly if you’re looking to defeat some of the game’s hidden bosses or explore optional late-game areas. You can tackle the whole game with a Light Crossbow, or a Longsword, or a Glintstone Staff, but there are more exciting options out there.

While I haven’t experimented thoroughly with every single weapon in Elden Ring, I’ve at least been able to single out a few favorites. Whether you want to get up close and personal with enemies, defeat them from a distance or lean into magic spells, here are some of the best weapons in Elden Ring. And if your favorite didn’t make the cut, remember that this list is not exhaustive.

The best melee weapons in Elden Ring

If you want to tackle foes up-close and personal in Elden Ring, you’ll want a weapon that scales with strength and/or dexterity. You’ll also want high vigor to bolster your health, and high endurance, to keep your stamina and equipment load competitive.

In my own playthrough, I couldn’t find a weapon I liked better than the Bloodhound’s Fang. This curved greatsword requires 18 strength and 17 dexterity to wield, which isn’t too prohibitive. You can also find it early in the game by defeating Bloodhound Knight Darriwill in Limgrave’s Forlorn Hound Evergaol. He’s not unreasonably tough, so the Bloodhound Fang can take you through pretty much the whole game. It has a relatively long windup, but the swing covers a lot of ground, and it causes blood loss over time. Lots of enemies, including bosses, are susceptible to this status effect.

If you want a weapon with a longer reach, consider the Dragon Halberd. To find it, defeat the Dragonkin Soldier boss in Siofra River; to equip it, be sure to have 22 strength and 10 dexterity. The weapon scales primarily with strength, but offers dexterity bonuses as well. The weapon’s skill, Spinning Slash, can cause frostbite over time, and also deals thunder damage. Halberds in general are a good choice for mounted combat.

There’s also the Moonveil Katana, which has a killer weapon skill: Transient Moonlight. Not only is this attack lightning-fast, but it also shoots a wave of energy toward your enemy. The weapon causes blood loss over time, and scales well with both dexterity and intelligence. To find it, defeat the Magma Wyrm in Gael Tunnel, and build your character to have at least 12 strength, 18 dexterity and 23 intelligence.

The best ranged weapons in Elden Ring

If you want to tackle Elden Ring with from a distance, then you have a few excellent ranged weapons at your disposal. Just be aware that you’ll probably need to augment these armaments with a melee weapon, as bosses tend to close the distance between you pretty fast.

First off, there’s the Pulley Bow. It doesn’t deal a tremendous amount of base damage or have a particularly impressive weapon skill, but it does have the longest range of any bow in the game. And a long range means that you can get off an extra shot or two before an enemy reaches you. You can find the bow on a siege tower in Mt. Gelmir, and you’ll need 11 strength and 11 dexterity to wield it.

Crepus’s Black-Key Crossbow is also worth a look. The base damage is just OK, and the weapon skill is forgettable. But it has an extremely long range, and it can fire Black-Key Bolts. These projectiles cause scarlet rot buildup, and a lot of enemies — including some bosses — are ridiculously vulnerable to it. You can find the crossbow in Roundtable Hold (you’ll need a Stonesword Key to unlock the door), and you’ll need 14 strength and 16 dexterity to wield it.

Finally, I’d be remiss to not mention the Jar Cannon. I don’t know whether this is actually a “good” weapon in the conventional sense of the word. It’s an enormous cannon that fires greatbolts in lieu of cannonballs. Fully upgraded, it can deal a tremendous amount of damage, although it doesn’t scale with anything. While the Jar Cannon takes too long to reload to be truly practical, the fun factor alone makes it worthwhile. Defeat Demi-Human Queen Margot to find the weapon, and have 34 strength and 12 dexterity to equip it.

The best magical weapons in Elden Ring

The best weapon in Elden Ring for magic users varies somewhat, depending on whether you’ve built an intelligence- or faith-based caster. You’ll also need a catalyst to actually cast spells: a staff for sorcery, or a sacred seal for incantations. Here, I’ll focus on weapons to augment your magic, rather than the catalysts themselves.

First off, there’s the Sword of Night and Flame, which scales equally well with both intelligence and faith. It deals decent base damage, and it’s extremely easy to control, with fast, precise swings. The bit advantage of the sword, however, is its weapon skill: Night-and-Flame Stance, which lets you leverage either a Comet Azur spell or a fiery melee burst. You can find the sword in Caria Manor, but its requirements are steep: 12 strength, 12 dexterity, 24 intelligence and 24 faith.

The Coded Sword is about as good as it gets for faith casters. The weapon deals holy damage right off the bat, then scales with your faith stat, and only your faith stat. In other words, you don’t need to upgrade strength or dexterity at all to dish out a ton of melee damage. You’ll find the weapon in Leyndell, Royal Capital, and you’ll need 20 faith to equip it.

Intelligence casters can fall back on an old favorite: the Dark Moon Greatsword. Some variation of this sword has been in every Souls game. This time around, it dishes out both physical and magical damage, and scales primarily with your intelligence stat. It’s a gorgeous weapon, with a unique projectile attack and frostbite buildup. Finding it, however, is a bit tricky, as you’ll need to complete Ranni the witch’s questline, which is long and involved. The Dark Moon Greatsword requires 16 strength, 11 dexterity and 38 intelligence to equip.

Looking for more Elden Ring tips? Check out our guide to 11 Elden Ring tips for intermediate and advanced players, how to beat Starscourge Radahn in Elden Ring and Elden Ring keepsakes ranked best to worst. 

Elden Ring, like other Soulsborne games, is at its best when you’re fighting a seemingly unconquerable boss. At first glance, Starscourge Radahn is just such an enemy. This towering general (and his comically undersized horse) will put your mounted combat skills to the test, and even if you do everything right, you may succumb to one of his arena-clearing attacks anyway.

Still, you have one major advantage in the Radahn fight: an unlimited number of summonable allies. If you choose to leverage these partners, you can distract the gargantuan boss long enough to heal and regroup, which can make all the difference in a fight this intense.

How to prepare for Radahn 

If you’re reading this, it’s fair to assume that you’ve already found Starscourge Radahn and have attempted to fight him at least once. If not, though, Radahn is the boss of Redmane Castle in southeastern Caelid. If you’ve taken the Grand Lift of Dectus, then the Radahn Festival will be in progress, which offers some unique dialogue, and lets you bypass one tough boss fight.

(If you’re curious: The boss fight is with a Misbegotten Warrior and a Crucible Knight. If you want to fight them, you can come back after you’ve defeated Radahn. It’s a fun battle, but a tough one.)

Melee fighters don’t need to make any special preparations, although you should feel comfortable fighting on horseback. Magic users might consider Rotten Breath, as Radahn is weak to Scarlet Rot. Rock Sling and Magic Glintblade are both viable options for magically inclined characters as well. Ranged fighters can use their favorite bows, although be aware that Radahn’s ranged attacks are especially deadly.

How to beat Radahn’s first phase 

First off, if you’re the kind of Elden Ring player who insists that NPC summons cheapen the experience, you’re going to have a tough time with Radahn. The boss is still beatable, if you have enough patience and grit, but FromSoftware definitely designed the fight with summons in mind. It all ties into the Festival storyline, which Blaidd and Alexander will explain before the fight.

Unlike most other boss fights, which require you to summon NPC helpers before you start, the battlefield in Radahn’s fight is positively littered with summon signs. Depending on where you look, and which NPCs you’ve met elsewhere in the game. you can find summon signs for Blaidd, Alexander, Tragoth, Patches, Lionel, Okina, Therolina and Jerren.

It’s not really worth going into each one’s fighting style, since you don’t have much time to consider their pros and cons before Radahn starts firing magical arrows. Just run up to a summon sign and get allies on the battlefield ASAP. You can summon up to six allies, and if they die, you can simply resummon them. This is the only fight in the game that’s so lenient with summons.

Once you have a few NPCs on the field to soak up damage, hop on Torrent and ride toward Radahn. Don’t ride in a straight line, however, as his magic arrows will usually demolish you in a single hit. Employ some zigzag tactics, and try to come around in an arc.

Once you reach Radahn, how you fight him depends on your general playstyle. There’s no special trick here, other than learning his attack patterns and figuring out how to dodge each one. Don’t get off of Torrent, however, as you’ll never catch up to him on foot. Continue wearing down Radahn until he reaches half health.

How to beat Radahn’s second phase 

Radahn's second phase is where the fight can go off the rails quickly, easily and through no fault of your own. At about half health, Radahn will jump high above the battlefield, where you can't target him, or even easily see him. When he slams back down, he can kill you instantly — and even if you manage to avoid his impact, he'll also summon up a bunch of meteor projectiles that can kill you a little less instantly.

To be blunt, one false move during this whole transition can and will kill you. There's no perfect way to avoid it, and you'll probably have to fight Radahn a few times before you figure out the cadence of the jump and the subsequent attacks.

Assuming you can survive the initial onslaught, however, there's no special trick to the rest of the Radahn fight. Just as before, you'll want to summon NPCs as quickly and frequently as possible, replacing them whenever they fall in battle. You'll also want to stay relatively close to Radahn, as he can outpace you quickly, and his long-range attacks are much more devastating than his short-range ones.

The only real trick here is that Radahn can actually use his "jump and meteor" attack more than once, and it's not any easier to dodge the second time. As such, you'll want to play the second half of the fight pretty aggressively. Going all-out against Radahn is a risk, but it's a much bigger risk to play conservatively and risk a nearly unblockable attack.

Once you've defeated Radahn, you'll get 70,000 Runes, a  Remembrance of the Starscourge item and Radahn's Great Rune. Don't forget to explore the northeastern end of the battlefield, where you can find the optional War-Dead Catacombs dungeon. It's not nearly as hard as fighting Radahn.

If you're looking for more guidance, check out our 10 Elden Ring tips to help you survive, 11 Elden Ring tips for intermediate players and How to farm Runes in Elden Ring: Early, mid and late game spots. 

Elden Ring can be a lonely game if you insist on doing the whole thing solo. Luckily, you don’t have to. You can leave messages for other players; you can touch bloodstains to see how other adventurers died; you can invade other worlds and fight for supremacy; you can summon cooperators to take down tough bosses. 

However, even if you don’t want to interact with flesh-and-blood players, you can still summon help via Spirit Ashes. And if you’re still early in the game, consider trying the Spirit Jellyfish Ashes.

While the Spirit Jellyfish Ashes aren’t the strongest or flashiest summon in the game, they can make a big difference in boss battles if you know how to use them. Finding the Spirit Jellyfish Ashes is easy, and upgrading them is straightforward. As you play, you’ll eventually find better summons (such as the Mimic Tear), but the Jellyfish should take you through the first big chunk of Elden Ring.

Where to find Spirit Jellyfish Ashes

The good news is that the Spirit Jellyfish Ashes are incredibly easy to find in Elden Ring. The bad news is that if you don’t pick them up early, you may not get another chance.

One of the first big roadblocks in Elden Ring is the Gatefront Ruins. After you meet Melina and she tells you how to level up your attributes, you’ll have to fight your way up a steep, perilous slope, past a legion of undead soldiers and a gigantic Troll Warrior. Once you reach the top of the hill, though, you’ll find a Site of Lost Grace and a new location: the Stormhill Shack.

At the Stormhill Shack, you’ll find a blond woman in a red hood named Roderika. She’s actually one of the most important NPCs in the game, and has her own lengthy questline to pursue. For the moment, though, the important thing is to talk to her multiple times. Once you exhaust her dialogue options, she’ll give you the Spirit Jellyfish Ashes.

Here’s the rub: If you don’t speak to Roderika early on, you may not get a chance to pick up the Jellyfish Ashes later. After a while, Roderika will leave Stormhill Shack and relocate to Roundtable Hold, whether or not you’ve conversed with her. Some players insist that you can get the Jellyfish Ashes by speaking with her in Roundtable Hold and exhausting her dialogue options there. However, others weren’t able to do so, as it seems to depend on how far you’ve advanced in certain character questlines.

The bottom line is that you should get the Jellyfish Ashes from Roderika at your first available opportunity.

How to use the Spirit Jellyfish Ashes

To use the Spirit Jellyfish Ashes, you simply equip them and summon them during boss fights, just like any other Spirit Ashes in Elden Ring. A spectral Jellyfish will fight at your side until a boss defeats it, or until you defeat the boss.

At first, it’s not entirely clear why you’d want to use the Jellyfish over other early-game summons, such as the Lone Wolf or the Fanged Imp. The Jellyfish takes a long time to wind up for attacks, and bosses can interrupt it easily. While the Jellyfish can poison enemies, a lot of bosses aren’t susceptible to this condition.

However, if you upgrade the Jellyfish with Grave Glovewort, you’ll soon see why it’s such a worthwhile companion. Relative to other summons, the Jellyfish has a great deal of health and defense. A boss that’s focused on the Jellyfish could conceivably attack it for quite a while. As such, a reliable strategy is to let a boss focus its attention on the Jellyfish, then run up and attack from behind. Likewise, let the boss target the Jellyfish if you need to hang back and heal.

Granted, the Jellyfish isn’t invincible, and if you play too defensively, bosses will slaughter it before you have a chance to do much damage. But if you’re willing to play aggressively and dish out damage as quickly as possible, the Jellyfish should give you ample opportunity to do so.

How to complete the Spirit Jellyfish quest

There is one other good reason to make use of the Spirit Jellyfish Ashes. Late in the game, you’ll come across an area called the Stargazers’ Ruins in the Mountaintops of the Giants. As you explore, you’ll hear a voice. Follow the voice to its source, and you’ll discover that it belongs to a Jellyfish, desperately trying to find her sister.

It’s not immediately apparent, but the Jellyfish’s sister is the one you can summon. Just summon your Spirit Jellyfish Ashes, and the pair will reunite. As a reward, you’ll receive a gesture, as well as the valuable Primal Glintstone Blade talisman. It’s a worthwhile accessory for spellcasters, although it can wreak havoc with your HP, so use it wisely.

Elden Ring is a difficult game, and to see it through to the end, you’ll need every advantage at your disposal. Upgrading your weapon is one of the simplest ways to make the game feel more manageable. In fact, weapon upgrades can have an even more dramatic effect than improving your attributes, since weapon damage tends to increase faster than damage based on your stats alone.

However, upgrading weapons in Elden Ring can be a bit of a challenge, as you can’t just spend some Runes and be done with it. Instead, weapon upgrades require Smithing Stones: rare, valuable minerals that blacksmiths can use to empower your gear. As you play the game, you’ll acquire Smithing Stones naturally through careful exploration, lucky enemy drops and direct purchase. But if you’re having trouble with a tough section of the game and need a quick boost, here’s how you can find Smithing Stones and channel them into weapon upgrades.

How to find Smithing Stones

Before we discuss how to find Smithing Stones, it’s worth noting exactly what they do. Smithing Stones are a resource for upgrading every “normal” weapon you’ll find in the game — a broadsword, a morning star, a longbow, a spear, etc. Generally speaking, any weapon you can get from a shop or enemy drop is a regular weapon, whereas any weapon you can find only once through playthrough, either in a treasure chest or by defeating a boss, is a “unique” weapon. For those, you’ll need Somber Smithing Stones — see the following section for more details.

Smithing Stones come in nine different grades. The first eight are easy enough to distinguish: Smithing Stone (1), Smithing Stone (2), Smithing Stone (3) and so forth. However, to max out a weapon, you’ll need a rare resource called an Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone. There are only about a dozen of these items in the game, so you’ll have to be judicious with them.

As mentioned above, you can find Smithing Stones almost anywhere in the Lands Between. Treasure chests contain them; enemies drop them; merchants sell them. As such, it’s impossible to discuss the location of every single one in the game. Yet, Smithing Stone rarity tends to scale with where you are in the game. Early-game areas contain Smithing Stones (1) and (2), for example, while late-game areas offer Smithing Stones (7) and (8). Here are a few general locations to search:

• Smithing Stone (1): Limgrave, Stormhill, Mistwood
• Smithing Stone (2): Stormhill, Stormveil Castle, Weeping Peninsula
• Smithing Stone (3): Stormveil Castle, Ainsel River, Ruin-Strewn Precipice
• Smithing Stone (4): Siofra River, Raya Lucaria Academy, Gael Tunnel
• Smithing Stone (5): Nokron, Altus Tunnel, Sellia Crystal Tunnels
• Smithing Stone (6): Leyndell Royal Capital, Volcano Manor, Deeproot Depths
• Smithing Stone (7): Subterranean Shunning-Grounds, Moghwyn Palace, Miquella’s Haligtree
• Smithing Stone (8): Consecrated Snowfield, Yelough Anix Tunnel, Miquella’s Haligtree
• Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone: Consecrated Snowfield, Miquella’s Haligtree, Crumbling Farum Azula

How to buy Smithing Stones

You can also buy Smithing Stones if you find the proper items. Once in a while, you’ll come across an optional dungeon with an item called a Bell Bearing. By returning these Bell Bearings to Roundtable Hold, you can then purchase all the Smithing Stones you’d ever want. (Except for Ancient Dragon Stones; those are strictly limited.) Simply offer the Bell Bearing to the Twin Maiden Husks just past Gideon Ofnir’s study.

• Smithing-Stone Miner’s Bell Bearing (1): Explore Raya Lucaria Crystal Tunnel and defeat the Crystalian. This lets you purchase Smithing Stone (1) and (2)
• Smithing-Stone Miner’s Bell Bearing (2): Explore the Sealed Tunnel and open a treasure chest. This lets you purchase Smithing Stone (3) and (4)
• Smithing-Stone Miner’s Bell Bearing (3): Explore the Zamor Ruins and open a treasure chest. This lets you purchase Smithing Stone (5) and (6)
• Smithing-Stone Miner’s Bell Bearing (4): Explore Crumbling Farum Azula and defeat the Godskin Duo. This lets you purchase Smithing Stone (7) and (8)

How to find Somber Smithing Stones

Whereas Smithing Stones upgrade regular weapons, Somber Smithing Stones upgrade special or unique weapons. Regular weapons will take you most of the way through Elden Ring. But if you want to tackle some of the game’s tougher bosses or get involved in the demanding player-versus-player (PvP) scene, you’ll need something a little fancier. That’s where Somber Smithing Stones come in.

Upgrading unique weapons is actually a little more straightforward than upgrading regular ones. Regular weapons have 25 ranks, each of which requires a different amount of Smithing Stones. By contrast, unique weapons have only 10 ranks, and you need only one Somber Smithing Stone per level. Somber Smithing Stones range from (1) to (9), with a limited number of Somber Ancient Dragon Stones available toward the endgame.

Like Smithing Stones, Somber Smithing Stones are all over the place, and you can find them by exploring thoroughly and defeating every enemy you come across. If you need a particular rank, though, here are a few places to search:

• Sober Smithing Stone (1): Limgrave, Stormveil, Morne Tunnel
• Somber Smithing Stone (2): Weeping Peninsula, Liurnia of the Lakes, Raya Lucaria Tunnel
• Somber Smithing Stone (3): Liurnia of the Lakes, Raya Lucaria Tunnel, Raya Lucaria Academy
• Somber Smithing Stone (4): Nokron, Sellia Crystal Tunnels, Ruin-Strewn Precipice
• Somber Smithing Stone (5): Altus Plateau, Sealed Tunnel, Nokron
• Somber Smithing Stone (6): Mt. Gelmir, Old Altus Tunnel, Deeproot Depths
• Somber Smithing Stone (7): Nokstella, Lake of Rot, Consecrated Snowfield
• Somber Smithing Stone (8): Consecrated Snowfield, Lake of Rot, Yelough Anix Tunnel
• Somber Smithing Stone (9): Crumbling Farum Azula, Elphael, Consecrated Snowfield
• Somber Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone: Elphael, Crumbling Farum Azula, Moghwyn Palace

How to buy Somber Smithing Stones

Like regular Smithing Stones, Somber Smithing Stones are also available from the Twin Maiden Husks in Roundtable Hold. You just need to find the corresponding Bell Bearings:

• Somberstone Miner’s Bell Bearing (1): Explore Sellia Crystal Tunnel and defeat the Fallingstar Beast. This lets you purchase Somber Smithing Stone (1) and (2)
• Somberstone Miner’s Bell Bearing (2): Explore Altus Tunnel and defeat the Crystalian Duo. This lets you purchase Somber Smithing Stone (3) and (4)
• Somberstone Miner’s Bell Bearing (3): Explore the First Church of Marika and search on the ground. This lets you purchase Somber Smithing Stone (5) and (6)
• Somberstone Miner’s Bell Bearing (4): Explore Crumbling Farum Azula and search near the Tempest-Facing Balcony. This lets you purchase Somber Smithing Stone (7) and (8)
• Somberstone Miner’s Bell Bearing (5): Explore Crumbling Farum Azula and search near the Beside the Great Bridge Site of Lost Grace. This lets you purchase Somber Smithing Stone (9)

How to upgrade weapons

Once you have your Smithing Stones in hand, you’ll need to figure out how to upgrade your weapons in Elden Ring. Thankfully, this is the easy part of the process. While you can upgrade your own gear up to +3 at the Church of Elleh, this won’t take you very far in the game. Instead, work your way to Roundtable Hold and find Master Hewg, the blacksmith. He can upgrade both your regular and unique weapons. Just be sure to bring along some Runes, as he doesn’t work for free.

There’s actually one other blacksmith in Elden Ring, although functionally, he can perform the same upgrades as Master Hewg. (Iji also sells a few useful items, though.) You can find Iji just past the Kingsrealm Ruins in northern Liurnia. Since Iji is a giant, he’s hard to miss. If you advance Ranni the Witch’s quest far enough, however, Iji will eventually become unavailable.

It’s already been a belter of a year for video games, with the PS5, Xbox Series X and Nintendo Switch enjoying a string of high-quality new releases. 

From Elden Ring to Dying Light 2: Stay Human, there are plenty of 2022 titles well worth playing, but getting your hands on them all would be pretty expensive. That’s where this massive Amazon sale steps in, as it’s offering 3 for 2 on a whole load of must-play PS5, Xbox Series X and Nintendo Switch titles, including several new releases. 

Amazon multi-buy promotions can be a little underwhelming, with the selection of available products sometimes tending towards the humdrum, but that's definitely not the case here. In fact, there’s a load of recent releases to choose from, as well as some favorites from 2021. Make sure to browse the full selection of titles included in the Amazon 3 for the price of 2 promotions, and read on below for some of our top picks. 

Securing your free game is super easy, too: just add three qualifying games to your cart and the price of the cheapest one will be automatically removed from your total at checkout. You can also mix and match across platforms as you please.

The best video games in Amazon’s 3 for 2 sale 

Now that Elden Ring has been out for a while, players are starting to see the game through to its end. At the time of writing, about 30% of Elden Ring players have reached at least one of the game’s multiple endings, and that number is climbing upward day by day.

While Elden Ring lends itself well to repeat playthroughs and postgame exploration, the bottom line is clear: A lot of players are going to want to pick up a new game pretty soon.

The bad news is that there’s nothing else on the market quite like Elden Ring. (I imagine we’ll be seeing a lot of copycats within the next few years, but I digress.) The good news is that if you enjoyed Elden Ring’s tight combat, evocative story or secretive open world, there are plenty of other games that check one or two of those boxes. If you’re done with Elden Ring, here are 10 great games you should try next.

Dark Souls 

It’s probably cheating to put other FromSoftware games on this list. But the point stands: If you’ve finished Elden Ring, but haven’t played From’s earlier output, you’re missing out. Perhaps you tried Dark Souls and bounced off of it; perhaps it was never really on your radar; perhaps Elden Ring’s open world was what drew you in. Although Dark Souls isn’t an open-world game, it still presents a huge dark fantasy world to explore, chock full of secrets and intriguing story tidbits. Like Elden Ring, it has a high difficulty curve, demanding combat and nuanced character-building. Granted, you could also try Bloodborne, which has some thematic connections to Elden Ring. 

Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen 

Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen came out about a decade ago, but in a lot of ways, it preempted Elden Ring. It takes place in a dark-fantasy, semi-open world where you get to customize a protagonist and choose from a variety of weapons and spells. You can find that in a lot of games, granted. What makes Dragon’s Dogma feel like Elden Ring is that the game gives you only vague hints about where to go next — and you’ll often find yourself outmatched by tough monsters along the way. If you liked Elden Ring’s setting and sense of exploration, Dragon’s Dogma has a lot of the same charms, although it’s not nearly as polished. 

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim 

Full disclosure: I’m not actually a huge fan of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. But given how many copies the game has sold since its debut in 2011, I appear to be in the minority. I’m also not too proud to admit that the game shares a lot of DNA with Elden Ring. Skyrim also lets you create a unique character, experiment with a ton of gear and skills, explore a huge world that hides secrets around every corner and fight foes in tense real-time battles. Granted, Skyrim’s combat is much less precise, and the central story is about as straightforward as they come. But if you like exploring, you’ll probably like this one.

Ghost of Tsushima 

Ghost of Tsushima is much easier than Elden Ring, and it has a much more comprehensible narrative. But this open-world samurai adventure still has a lot of elements that made Elden Ring work. Ghost of Tsushima features tight, technical sword combat, a large, interesting world and distinctive, varied side quests. This historical action game recounts the story of Jin Sakai: a fictional samurai who defends his homeland of Tsushima Island during the real-world Mongol Invasion of 1274. The story and characters should keep players hooked all the way to the end, but if those don't work, there are also stylish swordfights and strategic stealth. 

Hollow Knight 

At first glance, Hollow Knight may not look much like Elden Ring. It's a side-scrolling Metroidvania rather than a 3D open-world game, and it's about cute, cartoonish bug characters rather than high-fantasy archetypes. However, play Hollow Knight for a few minutes, and the Dark Souls influence will become clear. Hollow Knight is a quiet, atmospheric game with an intense difficulty curve and a lot of lore to internalize. While it's not exactly open-world, it does provide plenty of optional, branching paths through its hauntingly beautiful world. If you're not married to the "3D action game" template, Hollow Knight is well worth a look.

Horizon Zero Dawn 

In terms of "difficult open-world games with an interesting central narrative," Horizon Zero Dawn is arguably right up there with Elden Ring. You play as Aloy: an adventurer in a post-post-apocalyptic world. As she explores the gorgeous American West, she'll do battle against both human foes and giant robots that resemble dinosaurs and prehistoric mammals. What sets Horizon apart from most other action games is that it's all about ranged combat rather than melee. To hunt your robotic prey, you'll need to be cunning, precise and judicious, using a combination of special skills and consumable items. That should feel familiar to Elden Ring players. 

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 

When Elden Ring debuted, many reviewers compared the game to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and with good reason. Like Elden Ring, Breath of the Wild also features a huge open world that never tells you explicitly where to go next. Early on in Breath of the Wild, you'll receive four vague plot directives, and how you pursue them is totally up to you. This time around, Link must tackle 120 mini-dungeons called Shrines, solving puzzles and improving his abilities as he goes. With tough combat, an interesting setting and lots of secrets to find, Breath of the Wild and Elden Ring scratch many of the same itches. 

Nioh 

One of the better "Soulslikes" out there, Nioh casts you as William, an Irish adventurer who makes his way to feudal Japan and trains as a samurai. He's based on William Adams, a real-life English navigator who did essentially the same thing. Of course, William Adams probably never had to do battle with a full bestiary of demons and fell spirits. Like Elden Ring, Nioh features precise, strategic combat, a high difficulty curve and a staggering array of different gear to equip. The levels are a little more directed, but there are still plenty of secrets to find if you're willing to go off the beaten path. 

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order 

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is probably the biggest stretch on this list. It's not an open-world game; it's not a dark fantasy game; it's not even really a Soulslike game. But Fallen Order does feature demanding combat, difficult opponents and lots of optional exploration. This third-person action/adventure game casts you as Cal Kestis, a Jedi Padawan trying to survive shortly after Darth Vader's Jedi Purge. Armed with a lightsaber and a variety of Force powers, you'll take on the soldiers of the Empire, as well as deadly native fauna on a variety of planets. Elden Fans will almost certainly like the combat in this one. 

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 

Elden Ring may be the latest "open-world game where almost every piece of side content is worthwhile," but The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt just about pioneered the formula. In this game, you take control of roving monster hunter Geralt of Rivia, who finds himself embroiled in a war, an interdimensional hunt and a love triangle, all at the same time. Instead of one seamless world, you'll explore four huge areas, but each one has a varied landscape, a plethora of side missions and an exciting quest to advance the main story. The combat isn't quite as gripping as in Elden Ring, but your choices have a much bigger influence on the story. 

If you're still working your way through Elden Ring, we have a bunch of tips and tricks for getting the most out of the game. 

• 10 Elden Ring tips to help you survive
• Elden Ring: Where to go after Queen Rennala
• Elden Ring: Where to find Mimic Tear, and how to optimize it
• How to farm Runes in Elden Ring: Early, mid and late game spots
• How to find map fragments in Elden Ring
• Elden Ring: Is it worth completing Ranni’s quest?
• Elden Ring keepsakes — ranked worst to best

Elden Ring is a long game, but it has a consistent difficulty curve throughout. You’ll come into an area feeling vulnerable and outmatched; you’ll upgrade your stats, weapons and skills; you’ll conquer enemies that you previously thought impossible. Then, you’ll reach a new area, and the cycle will start all over again.

If you’ve already got a pretty good handle on Elden Ring, then it’s time to consider a few more tips to take your playthrough to the next level.

(If you don’t have a good handle on Elden Ring, or if you’ve just started, consider our Elden Ring tips for beginners instead. Roughly speaking, if you’ve beaten Margit the Fell Omen, then you’re probably ready to incorporate the tips on this page into your playstyle.)

Whether you’re in the game’s long middle stretch, or having trouble conquering the difficult endgame bosses, here are 10 Elden Ring tips for intermediate and advanced players. Some of these, you’ll probably have figured out already — but others might just give you the edge you need to finish the game.

Kill skeletons for good

To be fair, killing skeletons in Elden Ring isn’t exactly an advanced trick. You can find catacomb-style dungeons well before you confront Margit. If you can’t fight your way past the skeletons in them, you’ll be unable to pick the valuable Glovewort that grows in these charnel houses. However, putting skeletons down for good requires a slightly different strategy in each FromSoftware game.

In Elden Ring, you have to land a killing blow after you’ve taken a skeleton down. A second or two after a skeleton collapses, it will start to glow blue. Just hit it with your weapon once more before it can reform, and it won’t get up again.

Attack from both sides on horseback

Another “so silly, we can’t believe we didn’t think of it” tip involves horseback combat. When you summon Torrent, you’ll be able to attack foes with your right-hand weapon. (As such, you should consider upgrading a fast weapon with a long reach specifically for horseback combat, but that’s sort of a separate tip.)

However, if you encounter enemies on your left, you don’t need to circle around them before you attack; simply hit the left bumper or left trigger instead. You’ll swing your right-hand weapon in your left hand instead. It’s a simple fix, but you’d be amazed how much of a difference it makes.

Don’t be afraid of multiplayer

Elden Ring isn’t strictly a multiplayer game, but it’s not strictly a single-player one, either. You have lots of options to engage with other players, which range from leaving messages for them, to teaming up with them to fight bosses, to invading their worlds and fighting them directly. It may be tempting to simply go through the whole game solo, but it’s much easier, not to mention more fun, with a little help and/or competition. There’s also very little consequence for failing in a multiplayer match, but potentially great rewards, from items and Runes to completing questlines. If nothing else, at least don’t be afraid to leave or rate helpful messages.

Upgrade your Spirit Ashes

If you’ve taken our earlier advice about killing skeletons for good (reminder: hit ‘em once, then hit ‘em again when they’re down), then you’re all clear to explore catacombs. You’ll find catacombs in every corner of the Lands Between, usually pitting you against pitch-dark environments, undead foes and fiendish traps. 

While catacombs are difficult, they also provide a resource that most other areas don’t: Glovewort. This flower (sometimes called lily of the valley in real life) is a vital resource for upgrading your Spirit Ashes — and these can make a night-and-day difference during tough boss fights. Explore catacombs; upgrade your Spirit Ashes with Roderika in Roundtable Hold; beat tougher bosses; repeat.

Use the Flask of Wondrous Physick

To answer your most burning questions: No, the Flask of Wondrous Physick doesn’t consume any ingredients permanently. No, you can’t upgrade it. And yes, it can be a game-changing accessory, if you’re willing to get a little creative with it.

In Elden Ring, you’ll often come across Minor Erdtrees, where you’ll discover Crystal Tears: components for the Flask of Wondrous Physick. Mix these tears, and you can confer a variety of beneficial effects, from upping your maximum HP to preventing Rune loss when you die (yes, really). Just be aware that difficult bosses guard most Minor Erdtrees, so be prepared to work for your upgrades.

Break enemies’ stances

Let’s face it: Parrying isn’t for everyone. While parrying lets you block enemy blows and deliver devastating counterattacks, it requires pitch-perfect precision, and doesn’t even work on most nonhuman foes. However, if you want to deliver critical attacks, there’s a much easier way to do so: break enemies’ stances. You can do this relatively easily with heavy attacks, and you can make the process even easier by delivering heavy attacks in mid-air. Simply jump, and hit the heavy attack button before you land. After a few blows like this, most enemies — even some bosses — will collapse to their knees, leaving them vulnerable.

Don’t neglect your Vigor stat

Vigor is the attribute that dictates your HP in Elden Ring, and it’s easy to neglect it. Early on, having a lot of HP can boost your survival odds considerably. By about mid-game, though, most bosses and plenty of rank-and-file foes can down you in two or three hits anyway. While having extra health may seem superfluous, Vigor can actually be a fantastic investment, especially if you sink five or 10 points into it.

It may seem as though bosses can obliterate any health bar in a single hit, but that’s not true. High Vigor will let you just barely survive devastating attacks, and you’ll often have just enough time to quaff a healing flask or to afterward.

Equip weapons with status effects

Changing up your weapons in Elden Ring may seem like a huge risk. After all, the game requires absolute precision, and the best way to develop that sense of timing is to spend dozens of hours with a single weapon. However, while upgraded standard weapons will take you most of the way through the game, eventually, you’re going to want to look into alternatives that inflict status effects.

Whether it’s blood loss, poison, fire or ice, unique weapons can devastate standard enemies and even stop bosses in their tracks, if you deal enough successive hits. These weapons take some practice to master, but it’s worth the investment.

Find the Mimic Tear

Players who absolutely, positively don’t want to use Spirit Ash summons can skip this tip. For the rest of you, however, it’s worth tracking down the Mimic Tear summon. Without going into tremendous detail, if you follow Ranni the witch’s questline and explore Nokron, the Eternal City, you can find the Mimic Tear ashes in a chest behind a Stonesword Key gate. The Mimic Tear will copy your equipment, abilities and consumable items, which means that most of Elden Ring’s bosses will find themselves at a distinct disadvantage. The Mimic Tear makes easy bosses feel trivial, difficult bosses feel manageable and impossible bosses feel possible.

Learn where to farm Runes

As you progress through Elden Ring, Runes become easier to earn — but they become easier to lose as well. If you’ve died twice in quick succession and find yourself Rune-less, you should find a place where you can recover them and get yourself an attribute increase or two before you fight the next boss. Luckily, there are plenty of places to earn Runes easily in the game. When you find one, make a note of it, and return there any time you need a boost. I’ve compiled a guide on how to farm Runes in Elden Ring: for early, mid and late game spots, but this isn’t a definitive list, and you may discover spots you like better.

Consider which ending you want

Elden Ring has a handful of different endings, depending on the actions you take in-game. It’s difficult to describe exactly how to activate each one without spoiling anything, but the game will drop some hints that you’re on the right (or wrong) track. To get the default ending, just beat the game normally.

To get the second ending, follow a major questline through to completion. To get the third ending, track down a well-hidden area and ignore Melina’s advice when she tells you to stop. You can get only one ending per playthrough, so choose wisely, and be prepared to play again.

If you haven’t started Elden Ring already, now is the time. The game has been out for about a month, and in that time, more than 12 million players have ventured into the Lands Between, seeking adventure and lots of valuable Runes. If you’re one of them, then starting the game with the right Elden Ring keepsake can help.

Elden Ring is one of those games that people will be playing for years to come. If you’re just starting Elden Ring for the first time, you’re in good company. And if you’re ready to start a second playthrough, you’ll want to start it off on the right foot. 

During character creation, as you customize your avatar’s appearance and choose a class, you’ll also get a chance to select a small keepsake. This can be an intimidating choice, especially if you’ve never played a FromSoftware game before.

The good news is that none of the keepsakes will make or break the game, and you can find all of them again during your travels. However, some of them are definitely better than others, particularly if you want an advantage early on. Read on to discover how we’ve ranked the Elden Ring keepsakes, from worst to best.

Elden Ring keepsakes, ranked from worst to best

Boiled Prawn

The Boiled Prawn isn’t a bad item, but it’s a bit of a waste as a keepsake. When you eat it, it will let you resist some physical damage for a limited time. That’s it. Once you consume the Broiled Prawn, it’s gone. Later in the game, you can buy hundreds of Boiled Prawns for a pittance, so it’s not really worth starting off with one.

Bewitching Branch

The Bewitching Branch can be a useful item, but it doesn’t come into play until much later in the game. A handful of bosses in Elden Ring summon phantoms to aid them in battle; the Bewitching Branch can turn one of them against its summoner. Granted, the game doesn’t tell you that, and by time you get that far, you’re likely to have found another Bewitching Branch during your travels.

Shabriri’s Woe

Shabriri’s Woe is another one of those “good item; not good for new players” keepsakes. This talisman will attract enemy aggression in co-op matches. It’s a great accessory if you’re building a heavily armored character and want to assist other players with boss fights. But new players should generally focus on building up their own skills first, and aiding other players later. When they’re ready, they can buy this talisman easily enough later on.

Fanged Imp Ashes

The Fanged Imp Ashes are summonable creatures, and it’s always good to have a few of these in your inventory. At the same time, you can’t use them right away — you’ll still need to find Renna and the Spirit Calling Bell first. And since Renna gives you the Lone Wolf Ashes along with the bell, the Fanged Imp Ashes can feel superfluous. You can also buy them later, if you really want them.

Nothing

As in previous Soulsborne games, Elden Ring keepsakes are totally optional. You don’t have to take anything if you don’t want to. And, truth be told, starting the game off with nothing isn’t the worst idea. Some of the keepsakes are confusing; others give you a big advantage right from the start; still others simply don’t do much. Starting off with nothing keeps your playthrough simple, and lets you learn what you need on the fly.

Lands Between Rune

As you play through Elden Ring, you’ll collect Runes from fallen foes. But you can also use certain consumable items to gain runes, such as the Lands Between Rune. This will give you a bunch of Runes right off the bat, which you can use to level up or buy items. It’s a solid starting bonus, although Runes are easy enough to earn as you go otherwise. Be sure to check out our guide How to farm Runes in Elden Ring: Early, mid and late game spots. 

Cracked Pot

Elden Ring has a significant crafting element, and that means you’ll need to gather materials as you explore the Lands Between. One useful component is the Cracked Pot, which will let you craft consumable offensive items, such as a Fire Pot or a Holy Water Pot. Each Cracked Pot you collect stays in your inventory permanently, making this keepsake a good investment for the whole game.

Crimson Amber Medallion

The Crimson Amber Medallion is a solid choice for pretty much any kind of adventurer. It’s a talisman that raises your maximum HP slightly. The benefits are pretty self-explanatory; there are essentially no drawbacks. While you’ll find better talismans later on, the Crimson Amber Medallion will give you a useful and consistent boost for a good chunk of the early game.

Golden Seed

A Golden Seed will let you boost the amount of Crimson Tear or Cerulean Tear flasks you can carry, right off the bat. This means that you can restore more health and/or magic each time you set out adventuring. Golden Seeds are one of the most valuable items in Elden Ring, and getting an extra one to start can be a huge boon. But there are enough Golden Seeds in the game to max out your flasks, even if you don’t take this one.

Stonesword Key

As you play Elden Ring, you will need a lot of Stonesword Keys. These consumable items unlock a variety of optional doors that you come across as you play. 

Every Stonesword Key area is somewhat different, but you’ll find everything from useful items to entire hidden dungeons. While you can find and buy Stonesword Keys as you play, they’re almost always expensive, or extremely well hidden. Having an extra Stonesword Key off the bat is a great thing. Just be willing to retreat if you come across an early-game area that’s beyond your level.

The Mimic Tear is a Spirit Ash summon that you can find in Elden Ring. And if you haven’t found it already, you might want to prioritize it. 

 Unlike most other summons in the game, the Mimic Tear is just as customizable as your character is. That’s because the Mimic Tear will copy your character, your abilities, your equipment and even your fighting style. If you’ve ever thought that an Elden Ring boss would be much easier if there were two of your avatar, then the Mimic Tear is here to prove you right.

While the Mimic Tear got a little less powerful in Elden Ring Patch 1.03, it’s still a durable, powerful summon that can make almost any boss in the game considerably easier. If you don’t have it yet, it’s worth taking some time to find the Mimic Tear and outfit it properly.

(If you steadfastly refuse using Spirit Ash summons because you feel it makes the game too easy, feel free to skip this piece. But you should be aware that some of the late-game bosses are truly hellish without a second party to take off some of the heat.)

How to find the Mimic Tear Spirit Ashes

Before you can use the Mimic Tear, you’ll need to find it. As you might expect, one of the most powerful summons in the game is pretty well-hidden. 

The first thing you’ll want to do is find your way to Nokron, Eternal City, an optional area that you’ll encounter as part of Ranni the witch’s questline. However, simply following Ranni’s quest won’t necessarily lead you to the Mimic Tear. You’ll have to go a little bit off the beaten path.

First off, if you want a preview of what summoning the Mimic Tear will be like, you’ll have a chance to face one as you explore Nokron. Before you get into the city proper, you’ll have to fight the Mimic Tear as a boss. Like the Mimic Tear summon, the Mimic Tear boss will copy your character exactly, from your equipment to your abilities. As such, you can defeat the boss pretty easily if you equip weaker gear than usual — but truthfully, you can defeat the boss pretty easily under normal circumstances, too. No one knows your character’s strengths and weaknesses better than you do, after all.

Once you’ve defeated the Mimic Tear, you’ll have a pretty large area to explore in Nokron. You’ll want to find Night’s Sacred Ground, which can be a little tricky to reach. First, find the Ancestral Woods Site of Grace, then jump down to the roof of the nearest building. (You can survive the fall.) Follow the path of buildings all the way down, until you reach the façade of an enormous temple. The Mimic Tear ashes are within, and you’ll require a Stonesword Key to acquire them. 

I won’t go into the exact steps here — Elden Ring is all about exploration, after all — but the Elden Ring wiki outlines the process, if you’re having trouble.

How to optimize the Mimic Tear

Once you have the Mimic Tear ashes in your possession, the fun part begins. First, revisit Roundtable Hold (check our Elden Ring tips if you haven’t been there in a while) and speak with Roderika the spirit tuner. Use whatever Ghost Glovewort you have in your possession; if you need more, explore catacomb dungeons. In fact, if you want to upgrade the Mimic Tear as far as it will go, you can find one Great Ghost Glovewort item in Night’s Sacred Ground, not too far from where you find the Mimic Tear ashes.

Now, here’s the fun part. Once you upgrade the Mimic Tear as far as it will go, it will essentially just be a much, much more durable version of your character. Whatever items you equip, your Mimic Tear will equip as well; whatever skills you wield, your Mimic Tear will wield, too.

There are as many ways to customize your Mimic Tear as there are ways to customize your character. As such, I won’t recommend specific gear or spells, since they may not mesh well with your playstyle. However, I can say that as a heavy-duty melee fighter, I got much more use out of my Mimic Tear once I equipped a curved greatsword and heavier armor. Doing so meant that my Mimic Tear could stagger enemies — even bosses — and not get staggered easily himself. As my Mimic Tear soaked up punishment, I would attack bosses from the rear, or retreat to heal.

While the Mimic Tear isn’t necessary to complete Elden Ring, it’s one of the best summons you can use, particularly if you take some time to farm extra Runes and build up your character. Just be aware that you can’t use the Mimic Tear while confronting most overworld bosses. Elden Ring wouldn’t want to make things too easy, after all.

I have an embarrassing Elden Ring confession to make: For a long time, I had absolutely no idea how to complete the map. Early on in the game, you come across a map fragment for Limgrave: a scrap of paper that fills in geographical details for the game’s first major area. I stumbled on a few more map fragments as I played, but I had no idea how to find them, other than venturing off into a new area and hoping for the best.

As it turns out, there’s a much simpler solution, and I wish I had known it before I sank dozens of hours into the game.

Finding map fragments is simply an issue of finding the right symbol on your map, setting a waypoint and following it until you reach your destination. Granted, the trip itself may be difficult, if you’re venturing through a tough area.

But once you have a map fragment in hand, you can plan out your route much more efficiently, as well as take some educated guesses about where you might find the next optional dungeon or hidden path.

How to find map fragments in Elden Ring

Believe it or not, the vast majority of map fragments in Elden Ring are already on your map, whether you’ve explored an area or not. At the beginning of the game, most of Elden Ring’s map is shrouded in a white mist. However, when you find the map fragment for any given area, it usually reveals a tiny bit of the surrounding area as well.

Rather than a white mist, you’ll see small patches of the next area as a featureless brown background, often with the vague suggestion of a road. And if you look carefully, you’ll also see where to go for the next map fragment.

First, scroll over to the area that you want to explore. Then zoom in and follow the road. Often, you’ll see a small brown obelisk right next to the road. Mark that location with a beacon, hop on Torrent, and ride there with all due speed.

These small brown obelisks represent the plinths that hold map fragments. While you can’t see much of an area until you find the corresponding map fragment, then game will almost always show you where you can find the plinth. It’s a tiny, easy-to-miss detail, but it can make Elden Ring feel radically more approachable. (Case in point: I explored almost all of southern Caelid, scouring the area for the map fragment, before I realized what the little obelisk represented.)

Limitations of the obelisk approach

To be fair, not every map fragment is located in an obvious spot right off the road — and not every map fragment is at the entry point to an area, either. Mt. Gelmir’s, for example, is toward the latter half of the level; northern Liurnia’s is in the middle of a lake; Deeproot Depths’ is in the middle of a town square. But generally speaking, if you follow the main road in an area, the map fragment won’t be too far off.

Finding map fragments is a relatively small Elden Ring tip, but it’s also something the game never tells you how to do explicitly. Once you start filling in the map, you can start making educated guesses about which corners might hide enticing secrets. Generally speaking, it’s worth following any road all the way to its endpoint, exploring out-of-the-way ruins and hunting under mountainsides for caves.

Next: How to farm Runes in Elden Ring: Early, mid and late game spots

After three years of uncertainty, Elden Ring is finally here, and it’s just as difficult as the games that inspired it. Elden Ring comes courtesy of Japanese developer FromSoftware, which previously developed Demon’s Souls, Bloodborne and the Dark Souls series. Like those titles, Elden Ring requires precision, accuracy and creativity to conquer — and even then, you’ll probably die as often as not.

While a challenging game — just read our Elden Ring review — it’s anything but impossible. From designed the experience to reward any player with the perseverance, determination and forethought to see it through. With a lot of trial and error, some skill and a little bit of luck on your side, you can handle almost any challenge that Elden Ring throws your way. Here are 10 Elden Ring tips to help you survive the Lands Between. You'll also want to read our primer on what you need to know before you play Elden Ring.

If you're just starting out, you might also want to learn how to find smithing stones and upgrade weapons in Elden Ring.

Don’t start with Wretch (unless you really want to)

Elden Ring offers 10 different starting classes. Nine of them are excellent choices for any kind of player, from the hardy Vagabond, to the wise Astrologer, to the versatile Confessor. However, there’s one class that inexperienced players should avoid, particularly if this is your first FromSoftware title. The Wretch starts with minimal stats, a weak wooden club and absolutely nothing else. You don’t have to take my word for it, either. Hidetaka Miyazaki, Elden Ring’s director, specifically recommended against this class for most Elden Ring players.

For the record, though, I started my playthrough as a Wretch, and loved the experience of building up from absolutely nothing. Playing as a Wretch also gives you complete control over how to allocate your stats as you level up, rather than having a variety of starting values. Just know what you’re getting into.

Meet Melina as soon as you can

After Elden Ring’s brief tutorial, you set off into the open world of the Lands Between. The entire Limgrave region is yours to explore as you please. However, no matter how many enemies you defeat, how much gear you find, or how many optional dungeons you explore, there’s little you can do with the valuable Runes you acquire as you go. You’ll want to find Melina, a non-player character who vows to accompany you as your Maiden, and channel your runes into valuable attribute increases.

Melina isn’t hard to find. Simply follow the trails of light from the first two Sites of Lost Grace that you find, and try not to die en route. Once you team up with Melina, you can go back and explore Limgrave to your heart’s content.

Use a shield — in moderation

Shields are one of the most valuable tools you can find in a Soulsborne game. They’re also a trap. That’s because while shields can block a ton of damage and save you from any number of ignominious deaths, staying on the defensive is a great way to get killed, particularly during boss fights.

However, as with most other systems in Elden Ring, there’s a way to strike a happy medium with shields. First, find a lightweight shield that can block 100% of physical damage; this is the most common type of attack that you’ll encounter. Then, get used to exploring with your shield up, which will save you from a lot of surprise attacks. During tough fights, however, learn when to keep your shield up and when to dodge — especially if you can dodge toward the enemy, rather than away from it.

Explore on horseback

Elden Ring gives you a summonable steed called Torrent, and you’ll want to make use of him whenever you can. In any part of the open world, you can hop on Torrent at will, and use him to traverse great distances, double-jump onto high platforms or perform hit-and-run attacks on enemies.

While Torrent’s primary purpose is to help you explore, he’s also an excellent companion for battles. While mounted combat is a bit imprecise, enemies will very often hit Torrent instead of you, giving you greater survivability. Furthermore, Torrent can outrun just about any opponent in the game, up to and including ferocious, gigantic bosses. There’s no shame in living to fight another day.

Work toward Margit the Fell Omen

While you can explore the Limgrave region for as long as you like, it’s relatively difficult to leave unless you fight the game’s first major boss: Margit the Fell Omen. Margit is a tough foe, as he wields a variety of weapons, strings together unbreakable combos and doesn’t seem to take a whole lot of damage. However, Margit is, indeed, fallible, as long as you have a little preparation and luck on your side.

You’ll fight Margit just as you enter Stormveil Castle, and after a few tries, you should have a pretty good idea of whether or not you can beat him. (The real challenge is the last third of the fight, when his attacks get much faster and harder to block.) If you can’t, head back out into Limgrave and hunt down optional dungeons and upgrades until you’re ready to try again. It's a good litmus test; if you can beat Margit, you can beat the whole game. Just prepare for longer loading times in between attempts if you're playing on Xbox Series X. 

Visit, and revisit, Roundtable Hold

As you get to know Melina better, she will eventually invite you to Roundtable Hold: a distant respite where Tarnished adventurers can rest and collaborate. Roundtable Hold is an incredible place to build up your character, as you meet a blacksmith, a spirit tuner (for summonable creatures), a priest, a sorcerer and more.

However, the real advantage to visiting Roundtable Hold is that you can confer with Gideon Ofnir: the ostensible head of the Hold. Ofnir considers himself a leader among the Tarnished, and has collected extensive lore about the four demigods who threaten the Lands Between. As you progress through the game, you’ll need to talk to Ofnir if you want to figure out where to go — and which boss to fight — next.

Fight giants for fun and profit

Compared to the Soulsborne games, Elden Ring is a bit stingy with its all-purpose currency (Runes, in this case). If you die twice in a row, you’ll be in a lot of trouble, since grinding out the thousands of runes required for each attribute increase can take a long time. To expedite the process, however, there’s an area early in the game that gives you at least 5,000 Runes per run. It’s a little difficult, though.

If you travel southeast of the Warmaster’s Shack in central Limgrave, you’ll find five giants (called Troll Warriors), each of whom drops 1,000 Runes on defeat. They’re tough enemies, particularly early-game. But if you fight them on horseback, they’re much simpler, and they’ll get a little easier each time you level up.

Spend your Runes frequently

It’s relatively difficult to hold onto Runes in Elden Ring. If you die once, you have to trek back to where you met your demise, and you can retrieve them. If you die twice in a row, however, they’re gone forever, and you’d better hope there’s a good spot nearby to start grinding.

The best way to ensure you don’t lose Runes is simply to spend them whenever you can. Attribute increases are the safest best for Runes, but if you don’t have enough for a costly level-up, you can also buy equipment or upgrade existing gear. Whatever you do, don’t walk around with thousands of Runes, unless you absolutely have to. You may not get to keep them.

Make sure you see our guide on how to farm Runes in Elden Ring to give yourself an edge. 

Heal early; heal often

Elden Ring lets you carry and upgrade Crimson Flasks, which restore a good chunk of your health each time you drink one. It may seem like a smart idea to save your Crimson Flasks until you really need them, but this strategy will get you killed as often as not. That’s because enemies in Elden Ring hit hard and fast, and healing takes precious seconds that you may not have.

As such, it’s best to keep your health topped up, even if you’re not at death’s door. Any time your health drops to about 50% or so, it’s worth healing — and if you’re in an area with tough foes (which is most areas), you may want to start quaffing once you hit 75% or so. You’re much better off surviving with a sliver of health than dying with an inventory full of flasks.

Feel free to come back later

One of the beautiful things about Elden Ring is that there are very few bottlenecks in the game. I can count on one hand the number of times the game requires you to go to a specific place and beat a specific boss before you can progress. (Speaking of which, I have some tips on what to do next once you've defeated Queen Rennala.) If you’re having trouble with a particular section or enemy, you can always hop on Torrent and seek out a new area. You’ll almost certainly find some helpful new equipment, or an optional dungeon that offers some much-needed Runes.  

The downside, of course, is that the next area you explore might be even more difficult than the one you left. It’s also sometimes difficult to tell whether an area is beyond your current abilities, or simply requires a different strategy. But it’s better than crashing headfirst into an unbeatable fight for hours on end.

Also check out our guide on how to beat Starscourge Radahn in Elden Ring.

Elden Ring is a long and difficult game, but there are plenty of ways to make your journey a bit easier. The simplest and most consistent way to get stronger in Elden Ring is to level up your attributes. The best build depends on your character class and playstyle, but no matter which attributes you want to improve, you’ll need lots of Runes, Elden Ring’s all-purpose experience points and currency.

Runes in Elden Ring are easy come, easy go. Every enemy drops Runes upon defeat, and you can find lots of items that confer additional Runes as you explore. However, if you die twice in quick succession, your Runes will disappear forever. This ranges from “not a big deal” if you weren’t carrying many, to “catastrophic” if you had been saving up for an important upgrade.

Luckily, Elden Ring has plenty of places to build up your Rune collection at relatively little risk. As I played Elden Ring, I found a handful of locations that I’d revisit anytime I needed a few extra Runes for a level-up, or after I’d lost a whole bunch of Runes and wanted to recoup my loss.

While I can’t promise these are the absolute best Rune farming spots in the game, I can promise that they’re simple, consistent and effective, particularly if you’re willing to grind for an hour or two.

Early-game Rune farming: Warmaster’s Shack 

Early on in Elden Ring, you’ll come across a location called the Warmaster’s Shack. Here, you can purchase Ashes of War from a merchant named Knight Bernahl. This is good to know, but what’s even better is what you can find if you venture to the southeast. There, you’ll find five deadly Troll Warriors, each of which drops 1,000 Runes upon defeat.

I’ve written a separate guide to earning early Runes in Elden Ring with this method, but here’s the basic gist: Fast-travel to the Warmaster’s Shack Site of Grace. Ride to the southeast. Fight the Troll Warriors, one at a time, preferably on horseback. They’re relatively tough foes for low-level characters, but they have a pretty predictable attack pattern, and they’ll get a little bit easier each time you level up. Furthermore, it’s easy to recover your Runes if you die, since can isolate the enemies and focus on one at a time.

This approach admittedly has limitations, as 5,000 Runes per run will only take you so far. But if you’re beefing up to fight Margit the Fell Omen, this is the place to do it. 

Mid-game Rune farming: Leyndell East Capital Ramparts 

Elden Ring does a pretty good job leading you from the beginning of the game all the way through the boss fight with Queen Rennala. After that, though, you’ll have to make your way to the capital city of Leyndell, and that’s quite a trek.

If you want to find a lot of Runes between Liurnia and Leyndell, your best bet is probably just to explore, since the world opens up considerably around this point in the game. But once you reach Leyndell, you’ll find another good spot for Rune farming: the East Capital Ramparts.

The East Capital Ramparts are the entrance to Leyndell, and the Runes can stack up surprisingly quickly, if you’re methodical and careful. You’ll start off by working your way through a gauntlet of simple mushroom-like enemies called Envoys, then a guard in a parapet, followed by more envoys, followed by another guard. The big source of Runes, however, is the fire-breathing gargoyle, which you can destroy from behind.

When you take the elevator down, you can use target lock to find and dispatch some additional humanoid foes, who probably won’t have enough time to fight back. You can also destroy a Perfumer if you run up to her quickly enough.

Anything past that is up to you, since the next area contains deadly Leyndell Knights and a room with two Perfumers and a much tougher guard. But even if you just make that run and teleport back to the Site of Grace, you’ll probably have earned between 10,000 and 13,000 Runes.

Late-game Rune farming: Mohgwyn Palace Approach Ledge-Road 

Lastly, when you’re strong enough to reach Mohgwyn Palace, there’s a Site of Grace at the Approach Ledge-Road that will be your primary source of Runes until you complete the game. Getting to Mohgwyn Palace is an odyssey in and of itself, since you’ll need to either complete Varré’s player-versus-player (PvP) questline, or make your way to the optional and hard-to-reach Consecrated Snowfield. The Elden Ring wiki has more details.

Either way, once you reach the Approach Ledge-Road, rest at the Site of Grace. You’ll find yourself next to a long line of Albinauric soldiers, but here’s the catch: Most of them are asleep, and won’t respond until you attack them. Once you do, you can dispatch them in a few hits, and each one is worth about 2,000 Runes.

There’s also a way to earn a solid 10,000 Runes right next to the Site of Grace. Simply pull out a bow, look toward the distant lake, and strike the giant crow. It will run toward you, but won’t be able to clear the gap, and fall to its death.

Between the crow and the Albinaurics, you can earn 30,000 or 40,000 Runes per run. Just be aware that there’s a large group of Albinauric soldiers toward the bottom of the path. You can fight them if you want — they also drop quite a few Runes — but they can be tough to take on as a group.

Of course, if you really want to maximize your Rune earnings, you’ll want the Golden Scarab as well.

How to find the Golden Scarab 

The Golden Scarab in Elden Ring is like the Covetous Silver Serpent ring in the Dark Souls series. Simply put, it increases the amount of Runes you earn by a staggering 20%. This adds up quickly, particularly if you’re using the farming methods above.

Just be aware that while the Golden Scarab isn’t unduly hard to find, it is tucked away in a difficult-to-reach dungeon, behind a tough boss fight.

The first thing you’ll want to do is find the Abandoned Cave mini-dungeon in Caelid. You’ll have to complete a tricky platforming challenge to get there; once again, the Elden Ring wiki is a good resource for the specifics.

The Abandoned Cave is a pretty straightforward dungeon, although you’ll have to be cautious of Scarlet Rot. At the end, you’ll fight two Cleanrot Knights: one with a sickle and one with a spear. If you’re not used to fighting multiple Cleanrot Knights at once, consider using a Spirit Ash summon or calling another player into your world. While the fight is tricky for solo players, it’s much more manageable with a partner.

Once you defeat the knights, the Golden Scarab is all yours. Equip it, and watch the Runes flow in.

Also check out the 10 best games to play after Elden Ring and how to beat Starscourge Radahn in Elden Ring.

Now that Elden Ring has been out for a while, players are starting to make some serious progress in it. Based on achievement and trophy stats, about half of players are halfway through the game, while more than one-quarter of players have already finished it. 

If you’re somewhere in the middle, though, you may be wondering how many optional quests you want to complete before finishing things up. And one of the best quests in the game belongs to Ranni the Witch.

You’ll first meet Ranni early on, in the Church of Elleh. There, she’ll give you a Spirit Calling Bell, which lets you summon various creatures to aid you as you progress through the game. (If you miss her, you can simply buy the Bell in Roundtable Hold.) Although she claims your paths are unlikely to cross again, you can indeed track her down if you visit Ranni’s Rise in the northwest corner of Liurnia of the Lakes. There, she’ll send you on a long, involved quest, where you’ll have to make your way through a dangerous optional area called Nokron, the Eternal City.

Ranni’s quest has a lot of optional components, and how to complete it varies significantly depending on where in the game you are. The Elden Ring wiki does a fantastic job breaking down the individual steps of the quest, and there’s no real reason to rehash that information here.

However, it is worth breaking down exactly what you get out of Ranni’s quest, and whether it’s worth the effort. After all, Elden Ring is already a huge, difficult game, and completing Ranni’s quest adds another layer of difficulty and complication to the mix. Here’s what you get out of completing Ranni’s quest — and what you’ll miss if you skip it.

Lore and character development

The main reward you’ll get out of any Elden Ring quest, Ranni’s included, is lore. Elden Ring, like the Souls games that preceded it, has a dense and complicated story, which doesn’t reveal all that much in mandatory cutscenes. If you want to learn more about the Lands Between, you’ll have to meet a variety of characters and listen carefully to what they say.

Without spoiling too much, Ranni is a vital character for the game’s main narrative thread, even though her quest is optional. Queen Rennala gives a few hints about Ranni after you fight her, as does Gideon Ofnir when you talk to him in Roundtable Hold. Ranni, as well as her servants Blaidd, Seluvis and Iji, fill in the rest of the details.

While Ranni’s backstory isn’t absolutely vital to understanding Elden Ring, she’s an interesting character, and reveals a few things about the game’s plot that you wouldn’t learn otherwise.

Optional bosses

One of Elden Ring’s great joys is confronting the varied and difficult bosses you’ll come across as you explore. Following Ranni’s questline is absolutely vital if you want to fight one optional boss, and will put you on the right path for another one.

When you first approach Ranni’s Rise, you’ll have to square off against Glintstone Dragon Adula, but the beast mysteriously disappears about halfway through the fight. If you follow Ranni’s quest through to completion, you’ll get to confront Adula once again, plus two other similar glintstone dragons that occupy the surrounding area.

The bigger draw, however, is Astel, Naturalborn of the Void, which you’ll encounter if you take a side path in the underground Lake of Rot area. Astel is an enormous and tricky boss, and quite different from just about any other foe in the game. If you’ve played Bloodborne, you may find Astel reminiscent of the bosses in that game.

The Dark Moon Greatsword

In just about every From game, you can find a phenomenal late-game weapon called the Moonlight Sword, or some variation thereof. In Elden Ring, it’s the Dark Moon Greatsword, and completing Ranni’s quest is the key to finding it.

To acquire the Dark Moon Greatsword, you’ll have to complete Ranni’s entire quest, which culminates with giving her the Dark Moon Ring. Without detailing how to complete the whole sequence of events, it’s worth noting that you can find the Dark Moon Ring next to Queen Rennala in the Raya Lucaria Grand Library. Ranni’s Discarded Palace Key will open the chest.

As in previous From games, the Dark Moon Greatsword is a beast of a weapon. To wield it, players will need 16 Strength, 11 Dexterity and 38 Intelligence. The sword scales poorly with STR and DEX, but reasonably well with Intelligence, making it an excellent companion for sorcerous characters. To upgrade it, you’ll need to use Somber Smithing Stones.

The third ending

Here’s where we get into mild spoiler territory. I’ll refrain from revealing anything significant, but be warned that Ranni’s quest can affect Elden Ring’s ending. Simply completing the quest won’t lock you into anything, though.

Without getting into too much detail, there are three possible major endings in Elden Ring. One of them requires a convoluted sequence of actions beneath the royal capital, Leyndell, which your maiden, Melina, explicitly warns you against. Another is the game’s default ending, which you can unlock just by completing the game normally.

The third ending is the culmination of Ranni’s narrative throughline. If you want to see Ranni’s ending — and be aware that this will lock you out of the other two choices — look for Ranni’s summon sign after you defeat the final boss. Once you summon her, a cutscene will begin and you’ll see what her quest was leading up to.

However, if you complete Ranni’s quest and decide you want the default ending anyway, that’s fine, too. Simply don’t summon Ranni after the final boss, and you can choose the default ending instead.

While you can technically play Elden Ring offline, you shouldn’t unless you absolutely have to. When you play FromSoftware’s beloved open-world RPG online, you can see messages from other players, summon partners to tackle tough bosses and invade other adventurers’ worlds to test your skills against theirs. Until today (March 24), however, playing online was inadvisable for PC players, due to a malicious hack that could essentially make the game unplayable. FromSoftware’s latest patch has fixed that issue.

Information comes from Elden Ring’s official patch notes, which detail a series of small changes for version 1.03.2 of the game. The patch corrects a few small bugs related to a quest involving a character called Nepheli Loux, as well as a few navigation and combat issues.

The big fix, however, is this: “Fixed a bug in multiplayer that allowed players to teleport others to incorrect map coordinates.”

“Incorrect map coordinates” is, in this case, a bit of an understatement. If you missed the initial hack news, here’s now it worked: First, a malefactor would invade a player’s world. This is usually just a way to engage in player-versus-player (PvP) combat, which is either a nuisance, a thrill, or a core element of the game, depending on how you play Elden Ring. But instead of fighting fair, the invader would use malicious code to send the host player into an unreachable map location, where they would fall continuously to their death.

Because there was no way to avoid the fall, players were essentially stuck in an infinite death loop, potentially rendering dozens or hundreds of hours of playtime useless. (Elden Ring does not allow backup saves.)

Our recommendation was to play Elden Ring offline — or at least to play it online by yourself, since invasions generally only happen if you team up with other players. Now, PC players can safely log back in, provided they download the latest patch. Downloading the patch should happen automatically as soon as you launch Steam; if it doesn’t, the game itself should advise you to log out and update.

It’s also worth reminding console players that this issue didn’t seem to affect the PlayStation or Xbox versions of the game. If you’ve been playing Elden Ring on consoles, then feel free to continue playing online normally.

Now that Elden Ring has been out for about a month, players are starting to make some real headway in it. If you’re feeling lost, however, then check out our tips for where to go after defeating Queen Rennala.

Elden Ring has been out for almost a month, and during that time, players have plumbed almost all of its mysterious gameplay systems. They’ve figured out how to wield weapons effectively, how to conquer tough bosses and how to explore the vast Lands Between. They’ve also figured out how to play together online, whether that means working together to take down bosses or squaring off in tough player-versus-player matches.

Unfortunately, hackers have figured out how to take advantage world invasions in the PC version of the game — and it could cost you your save file.

This info comes from a variety of Reddit threads, where various players have complained about the hack, as well as tried to share ways to mitigate it. Here’s how it works: First, a hostile player invades your world. Instead of simply duking it out as usual, though, the invader uses Elden Ring as a client to inject hostile code into your PC. 

This locks your game into a permanent loop, where your character falls an infinite distance, dies, reloads and then repeats the process. Since Elden Ring autosaves your data and doesn’t allow multiple save files, this essentially means that you can’t progress in the game anymore.

It's worth noting at that at present, this hack works only on the PC version of the game. It doesn’t seem to be affecting PlayStation or Xbox copies. But it’s also worth noting that we’re not sure whether that means a console hack is impossible, or whether no one’s successfully pulled it off yet.

Elden Ring invade hack fix

If you get invaded and hacked, there is a fix, although it’s a pain in the butt. First, load your game, and as soon as you start to fall, hit Alt + F4 to close the program. When you reload the game, open your map screen immediately, and teleport to the closest Site of Grace. You have only a second or two to accomplish this, but it is possible.

If you’re playing Elden Ring on PC and want to avoid the hack, however, you have a few more options — none of which are great. First, there’s the “play by yourself” solution. Unlike in previous Souls games, invasions in Elden Ring happen only when you’re playing cooperatively. In other words, invaders can only target your game if you’ve already summoned a player-character ally.

To avoid player invasions, you can just play by yourself. This isn’t a great solution if PvP is your favorite part of the Elden Ring experience — or if you need help beating a boss — but it will probably keep your save file safe.

There’s also the nuclear option, which is a little more foolproof: Simply play the game offline. To do this, simply start the game, the navigate to System, Network and Play Offline. The tradeoff is that Elden Ring is very much an online game, from its hint system to its occasional glimpses of other players throughout the world. You lose a lot by disabling online access.

FromSoftware may have a patch for this soon — or it may not, considering that it took the company years to address a similar vulnerability in Dark Souls III. In either case, keep the game patched, and consider suspending your PvP activities for the time being.

Elden Ring has been out for a few weeks, but it’s an extremely long game. Even if you’ve been playing assiduously since day one, you may be only halfway through the game — or less. (Having a life outside of video games is nothing to be ashamed of!) The beauty of Elden Ring — as well as that of the best open-world games — is that you can go wherever you want and proceed at your own pace. Of course, all that choice can feel downright paralyzing at times.

I’ve written before about how Elden Ring’s open world is sometimes directionless to the point of frustration. If you keep exploring, you’ll eventually get where you’re going, but you may have to endure a whole lot of dead ends — and outright deaths — to get there.

This isn’t so bad in the first half of the game, as various NPCs give you a pretty clear path to progress through the game. Start at Stormveil Castle; progress to the Academy at Raya Lucaria. Defeat Margit the Fell Omen, Godrick the Grafted, the Red Wolf of Radagon and Rennala, Queen of the Full Moon.

There’s only one problem: After you defeat Rennala, her boss chamber doesn’t open up on the entrance to the next area. You’ve gone as far as the game’s first major questlines will take you, and there’s no real hint about where you should go next. For some players, this will be liberating, as there’s nothing to do but explore and see where the plot picks up. For others, though, it may make Elden Ring feel a bit aimless.

If you’re in the first camp, then feel free to head back to the game, hop on your horse, and see where the wind takes you. For players in the second group, read on to see what your options are.

The road to Leyndell

Assuming you want to follow the main story in Elden Ring, defeating Queen Rennala will put you somewhere between one-third and one-half of the way there, depending on how much other stuff you’ve explored along the way. But while the path to Rennala was fairly straightforward, finding the next area is a whole adventure in and of itself.

The first thing you should do is revisit Roundtable Hold (check our Elden Ring tips if you need a refresher) and speak to Gideon Ofnir. He’ll tell you that your next objective should be Leyndell, the Royal Capital. He won’t tell you how to get there, naturally, but he’s right: Leyndell is where the game’s plot continues, and where you’ll face off against two more bosses who are vital to the story.

Leyndell lies on the far side of the Altus Plateau, a golden grassland that lies to the northeast of Raya Lucaria. Once you reach Altus, simply head east, and you’ll eventually find it. There’s only one way in, through the East Capital Rampart, and you’ll have to confront quite a few tough bosses in the overworld before you reach it. My recommendation is to explore Altus thoroughly in order to level up and upgrade your weapon.

There is only one problem, however: You can’t simply walk from Raya Lucaria to Altus. You can either fight your way through the Ruin-Strewn Precipice (recommended) or gather both halves of the Dectus Medallion (not recommended).

The Ruin-Strewn Precipice is the easier route of the two — “easier” being the operative word, and not “easy.” Head almost due north of Raya Lucaria, but stay in the water; don’t ride up onto dry land. You’ll eventually come into a narrow canyon that leads to the Ruin-Strewn Precipice Entrance. Climb your way through the ruins and confront a tough boss at the end. You’ll emerge in Altus.

The other option is to collect the two halves of the Dectus Medallion, which will let you access the Grand Lift of Dectus. You can find the left half of the medallion in Fort Haight: a small dungeon in the eastern part of Limgrave. The enemies here are pretty simple, and there’s no boss to fight. The right half of the medallion, however, is located in Fort Faroth, a remote dungeon in western Caelid.

Caelid is an incredibly tough area, and you probably haven’t explored it yet. This is not the ideal time to start, but if you insist, you can find out how further down on this page.

Either way, once you arrive in Leyndell, it’s an enormous area, with lots of shortcuts to find and plenty of enemies to confront. After you finish, your maiden, Melina, will give you a few hints on how to proceed.

Weeping Peninsula and Siofra River

If you’re not ready to advance the story just yet, there are a few areas you may have missed before confronting Queen Rennala; I know I did. (If you’ve already completed these areas, then feel free to check out the other two sections in this piece.) Early on in Elden Ring, you can find your way to the Weeping Peninsula and the Siofra River, but both are too tough for low-level players to complete.

However, if you’ve finished Raya Lucaria, you should definitely revisit these two areas, as you’ll soon be too powerful for them to have much payoff at all. Assuming you haven’t already found them, the Weeping Peninsula is south of Limgrave; just follow the road until you reach it. The Siofra River is a little trickier to find, but if you head east of Limgrave, you’ll come across the Third Church of Marika. South of that, there’s an elevator that takes you to an expansive underground river.

Both the Weeping Peninsula and Siofra River are sizable areas, and finding their secrets should eat up a few hours. You’ll also level up and find some weapon upgrade materials along the way. They won’t directly advance the story, but they should help you beef up your character as you prepare for the trip to Leyndell.

Caelid — if you really want

There is one other area that you can explore right after Queen Rennala, but I’d recommend leaving it until later. Still, Elden Ring players generally like a trial by fire — why play FromSoftware games otherwise? — so if you want a challenge, you can always visit Caelid.

Caelid is a region in the southeastern part of the world map. There are two ways to reach one. One is to simply keep following the road northeast past the Summonwater Village in Limgrave. The other is to explore the Dragon-Burnt Ruins in central Limgrave and open the treasure chest you find there. It will transport you to a dungeon in Caelid — and you’ll have to fight your way out.

Generally speaking, Caelid is one of the tougher regions in the game. Poisonous swamps cover a good chunk of the land, and giant, bloodthirsty beasts roam the southern part of the land. The northern part is called “Dragonbarrow,” and, well, you can probably imagine what you’ll find there.

Caelid isn’t all bad, as you’ll find plenty of weapon upgrade materials, and enemies drop quite a few Runes. However, I’d still recommend tackling Leyndell before Caelid. Elden Ring is a tough game no matter what you do; you don’t have to make it even tougher.

Elden Ring is a pretty massive game. Players that have already reached the end are reporting back playtimes that stretch beyond 100 hours, but this already huge open-world game has just got even bigger thanks to a smattering of new content added in its first major patch. 

Elden Ring update v1.03 is now available on all platforms, and is a completely free download. Like with most video game patches, it includes a wide assortment of bug and glitch fixes. Among the lengthy list of improvements are tweaks that prevent players from being able to fall through the map and a much-needed remedy for an issue that caused stat scaling to fail on certain weapons. 

While bugs being ironed out is always appreciated, what’s really noteworthy about Elden Ring’s first major patch is that it makes an already content-rich game even bigger. Patch v1.03 doesn’t add any new explorable areas or challenging bosses to slay, but it does add a whole new NPC named Jar-Bairn, to the game, plus expansions existing quests with new phases. 

The patch also includes some noteworthy tweaks which make Elden Ring more accessible than ever. For starters, helpful summonable NPCs now appear in more locations. Furthermore, one of the game’s biggest criticisms has been addressed: the lack of a traditional quest log. 

This update doesn’t add a full quest tracker, but it offers the ability for players to record the name and location of an NPC onto the in-game map — which should go some way to improving the game’s cumbersome quest tracking. If that's still not enough for you, there is an iPhone app that can help. 

Finally, new ambient music has been added to certain sections of the open world. So, if you’re already explored the Lands Between for dozens of hours and are getting fed up of hearing the same tunes, this patch is a must-download. If you want to see an exhaustive list of every change this update brings you can read the full patch notes over on the Elden Ring website. 

This first patch comes in the wake of the news that Elden Ring has been a massive commercial success. The critically acclaimed game has sold 12 million copies in its first two weeks on sale. To put that in context, after around four years on sale Dark Souls 3 had sold around 10 million units. 

After absolutely smashing its sale expectations, it’s no wonder that publisher Bandai Namco has already confirmed that Elden Ring is now considered a franchise and will be expanded in the future. It’s likely that this first major patch is just the start of a wave of fresh Elden Ring content over the next few years. 

If you’ve been enjoying Elden Ring, we have some good news: There’s more where that came from. In its first three weeks on the market, Elden Ring has sold an eye-watering 12 million copies. To put that in context, the whole Dark Souls series took nine years to sell 27 million copies.  In other words, Elden Ring is a big hit. The game’s publisher now plans to take this momentum and run with it by expanding Elden Ring into a comprehensive multimedia franchise.

Information comes from a Bandai Namco press e-mail. In it, the company discusses Elden Ring’s sales figures, some brief background on the game director, Hidetaka Miyazaki, and his co-conspirator, fantasy author George R.R. Martin, and what’s next for the IP.

“Much effort was placed into creating Elden Ring in order to exceed the expectations of our fans worldwide,” said Yasuo Miyakawa, president and CEO of Bandai Namco. “With a similar goal, we will continue our efforts in expanding the brand beyond the game itself and into everyone’s daily life. We will continue to create enjoyment and fulfillment through entertainment so that we can come closer and connect to our fans around the world.”

It's a subtle point, but the message seems clear enough: Bandai Namco doesn’t envision Elden Ring as a single standalone game. Instead, From’s latest adventure will become a franchise, and some sort of non-gaming tie-in seems like a safe bet.

How Elden Ring could expand “beyond the game itself and into everyone’s daily life” is anyone’s guess. But if we look at how Bandai Namco has managed the Dark Souls brand, we can see a few possibilities. Since the series debuted, Dark Souls has spun off into a comic book series, a board game, a series of collectables and, of course, two well-received sequels.

An Elden Ring sequel, or at least some DLC, seems like a safe bet, at least in a few years. Until then, comic books and collectables seem like a fair bet. It’s also worth remembering that George R.R. Martin spent much of his career as a TV writer, and has overseen dark fantasy TV shows before. Some kind of small-screen tie-in for Elden Ring under his supervision would not be the most ridiculous idea.

In any case, Elden Ring fans can rest assured: the standalone game will officially become a franchise. Let’s just hope that subsequent projects are as good as the first.

Update: Unofficial mod support is coming to Elden Ring, here's everything you need to know

Elden Ring is an early-runner for game of the year, but some players have criticized the game’s lack of quest tracker. This omission is by design, but for some it’s a barrier to entry that is proving hard to overcome; that's where this new iPhone app comes in handy. 

The app is called Shattered Ring, and it seeks to address the game’s lack of traditional quest tracker by giving players the ability to keep tabs on important NPCs, locations and quests. The app is currently only available on iOS, and costs $2.99/£2.49, but if you’re finding keeping track of quests in Elden Ring a chore it may be well worth the investment. 

The Shattered Ring app isn’t a traditional game guide or a complete walkthrough, instead it’s very much a tracking tool. Information is entered by the user and can be referred back to as needed. It won’t so much tell you exactly what to do, but will instead help you piece together Elden Ring’s often deliberately cryptic clues. 

What’s really great about this app is it doesn’t rob players of the sense of discovery that Elden Ring thrives off. It doesn’t contain a whole bunch of spoilers and ruin some of the game’s biggest surprises. Instead, it’s merely a helpful companion that can make your adventures in the Lands Between a little easier to keep track of. 

Shattered Ring was developed by an Elden Ring player called Dachary Carey who isn’t an app developer by trade. “I wanted to enjoy playing this game so badly that I wrote my very first app to solve what I think is a big accessibility barrier for a ton of more casual gamers like myself,” Carey told VGC.  

The app isn’t strictly limited to use with Elden Ring either. It could in theory be used for any RPG video game that offers plenty of side content but lacks an in-game quest tracker. The Shatter Ring's app store description also points out that it’s perfect for keeping track of character and quest information in table top role-playing games such as Dungeons and Dragons.

With a game as challenging as Elden Ring, you definitely want all the help you can get. So, if you’re struggling to keep track of which NPCs you’ve already met, and which locations you still need to explore, consider giving Shattering Ring a download. Make sure to also check out our helpful tips and our guide to Elden Ring’s various character classes. 

Elden Ring is a pretty intense experience. Overcoming the game’s brutal challenge requires serious concentration and determination, but there’s no shame in occasionally needing a moments breather to compose yourself or attend to real-life distractions. 

Unfortunately, just like developer FromSoftware’s previous games in the Soulsborne genre, Elden Ring doesn’t have a traditional pause button. Or at least, it didn’t appear to at first. While PC players already had access to a Pause the Game mod, YouTuber IronPineapple has discovered a way of temporarily suspending Elden Ring that doesn’t require mods and can be performed on console as well. 

Bringing up your inventory will not pause the game, but once there if you press the help button and then select the “menu explanation” option from the submenu the Lands Between will freeze in place until you exit. Hooray, you’ve just discovered how to pause in Elden Ring. That’s a challenge arguably as difficult as overcoming the game’s tough-as-nails first boss, Margit the Fell Omen. 

Now for the bad news, this pause function requires six button presses and involves quickly navigating three menus. Once you’ve done it a few times it can be performed in seconds, but it’s far from an instant process. If you’re in the middle of an intense fight and looking for respite, it’s likely you’ll take serious damage while fiddling about trying to pause proceedings. 

Of course, if you just want to pause the game while exploring the overworld without needing to trek back to a respawn point, or have no other option because the real-world is calling, then this slightly cumbersome pause function will get the job done in a pinch. It’s just not quite as convenient as the traditional single button pause we all take for granted in most other games. 

We’d also advise not getting too used to pausing Elden Ring this way. The game world freezing when you enter the “menu explanation” screen definitely seems unintentional. Elden Ring doesn’t pause when navigating any other menu. It’s highly likely that once FromSoftware gets wind of this hidden pause button they will look to remove it with a patch.

Update: Unofficial mod support is coming to Elden Ring, here's everything you need to know

Now that it’s been out for a bit, Elden Ring has earned a reputation as a tough game from players who've learned that lesson first-hand. It’s arguably not any tougher than earlier FromSoftware games, and there are lots of ways to mitigate the difficulty. But sooner or later, you’re going to come across a challenge you can’t avoid, and when that happens, you’re going to want to earn some Runes.

Like Souls in Dark Souls and Blood Echoes in Bloodborne, Runes in Elden Ring are both experience points and currency. You can use them to slowly increase your attributes, buy new items or upgrade gear you already own. As the game progresses, you’ll need an awful lot of Runes, as prices tend to go up on all three functions pretty quickly. (If you’re very early on in the game and can’t level up yet, check our Elden Ring tips to learn how.)

The best way to gather Runes is generally to just explore an area, fight new enemies, and tackle optional bosses and consumable Golden Rune items. But early on, you might run out of safe areas to do this — particularly if you haven’t fought Margit the Fell Omen yet. And for Margit, you’ll need all the help you can get.

While I was building up my character to fight Margit, I found one reliable way to earn Runes quickly. It’s not easy, and it’s definitely not safe. But it’s reliable, and it gets a little less harrowing with each run. Let’s start at the Warmaster’s Shack.

The Warmaster’s Shack

One of the first real roadblocks in Elden Ring takes place at the Gatefront Ruins. There, you’ll find yourself up against a cadre of undead swordsmen and archers, all of whom have the high ground against you. As if that weren’t bad enough, halfway through, a giant called a Troll Warrior will leap down from above and smash you to bits, if you let him.

It’s a tough encounter, but you can survive it, if you focus on one enemy at a time and take it slow. And, if you can make it up the hill to the next Site of Grace, you’ll also have a whole new area of Limgrave to explore. Ride up the hill until you reach the Stormhill Shack, then ride east until you reach the Warmaster’s Shack. (Watch out for wolves along the way. There are a lot.)

There’s some fun stuff to do at the Warmaster’s Shack, but for now, we’re more concerned with what what’s nearby. Turn southeast and ride past the shack, and you’ll see something scary — and exciting. Remember the single Troll Warrior from before? Now, there are five of them. And, if you play your cards right, they can be an inexhaustible source of Runes.

A horde of giants

At the risk of underselling the challenge for early-game characters, these giants are essentially a way to make 5,000 Runes quickly and reliably. And before Margit, 5,000 Runes in one go is nothing to sneeze at. To put this in context: A single run will get you one level increase up until level 20. Two runs will get you one level increase up until level 40. If you’re willing to spend an hour or so just farming giants, you’ll have a considerable edge when you take on Margit.

There’s also a side bonus to slaying these giants: a small cache of Smithing Stones, hidden within a fallen pillar. While these don’t respawn, they’re still an excellent way to upgrade your weapon early on in the game. Simply lure a giant over and let him smash the pillar open; you can’t do it yourself.

The one hitch in the plan, of course, is that you have to actually fight the giants to earn Runes. And, unless you’re an unusually good Soulsborne player, you probably had at least a little trouble with the first one. How can you take on five?

The good news is that you don’t have to take on all five at once. The giants’ patrol territories don’t really overlap with one another — and if they do, you can simply ride away across the open plain. When you defeat each giant, you’ll recover some of your Flasks, so keeping your health topped up isn’t a problem, either.

The best way to fight the giants depends on your character build and strategy. However, I personally found that staying on horseback, targeting the giant’s main body, then riding alongside him and slashing at his legs was a reliable strategy. This let me ride away whenever a giant made a smashing attack. Furthermore, after enough strikes to the leg, the giant will collapse, and plunging your sword directly into one’s head will deal a tremendous amount of damage.

If the situation looks bad, just ride away and reset at the Warmaster’s Shack. And, if you die, you’ll respawn at the Warmaster’s Shack, where reclaiming your Runes is just a short horse ride away. Since you’ll level up quickly — and improve your weapons, thanks to the stone cache — the giants will be a little easier each time, and considerably easier after a few runs.

You can even grab an extra 1,000 Runes, if you’re willing to ride a little further. After you slay the giants, ride back west, and you’ll find the initial giant that jumped down to attack you at the Gatefront Ruins. You’ll have to dispatch a few wolves, but it’s a short detour for a pretty good amount of Runes.

The limits of giant-slaying

I can’t promise that this is the absolute fastest way to earn Runes early on in Elden Ring. However, I can say that it helped me go from “getting my butt kicked by Margit” to “defeating Margit” in a relatively short time. It’s quick, it’s reliable, it’s relatively low-risk and it has a definite, repeatable strategy.

The only downside is that by the time you get up to Level 40, 5,000 Runes no longer seems like a whole lot. Once you advance to Stormveil Castle and beyond, killing giants suffers from serious diminishing returns, and you’re probably better off looking elsewhere.

Still, that’s the beauty of Elden Ring. No one location can sustain you for the whole game; you have to get out there and explore. And with 40 levels and an upgraded weapon under your belt, you should be able to explore a whole lot more of the Lands Between.

To be completely honest, I wasn’t all that interested in Elden Ring prior to launch. I didn't have any concerns about the game’s overall quality — I'd never bet against FromSoftware — but I have a fairly complicated history with the Dark Souls series.

I’d consider myself a Souls skeptic (although recently Demon's Souls really caught my attention on PS5)  While I've always admired From’s particular brand of tough-as-nails RPGs from afar, they never quite clicked with me. I assumed Elden Ring would be more of the same, and instead reserved my hype for the glut of other February games, such as Dying Light 2 Stay Human, Sifu and Horizon Forbidden West. 

Once Elden Ring's phenomenal reviews started pouring in, my resolve weakened and quickly crumbled. I just couldn’t ignore a game that some outlets heralded as not just a GOTY contender, but a potential GOAT. So, last weekend, I took the plunge into the Lands Between, expecting to once again struggle as I found my footing. 

Within just a few hours, though, I was hooked. Don't get me wrong: Elden Ring shares so much DNA with Dark Souls that it should have been called Darks Souls 4 for simplicity's sake. But a few smart additions, including an expansive open world and slightly more generous safeguards, have convinced me to evangelize along with the rest of the previously converted choir.

Trying (and mostly failing) to fall in love 

In 2011, Japanese developer FromSoftware changed gaming with the release of Dark Souls, a spiritual sequel to the cult PS3 hit Demon’s Souls. This tough-as-nails action/RPG essentially birthed a whole new genre of games, referred to as Soulslikes, and a passionate army of fans. 

Since then, From has released two direct follow ups, as well as a spiritual sequel, Bloodborne. Plus, Demon’s Souls got a full remake on the PS5 by Bluepoint Games. From’s 2019 release, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, also shares plenty of similarities to Dark Souls, even if its combat mechanics are fundamentally different.   

Over the years, I’ve tried all of these games (except for Dark Souls 2, the most divisive game in the collection) to varying degrees, but I’ve never quite been hooked. This was primarily because Souls games have typically fallen on the wrong side of the fine line between frustration and fun for me. 

I have no problem with challenging games. I consider Cuphead one of the greatest games ever made, and Returnal was my pick for our Game of the Year award 2021. (I was outvoted, and Deathloop ultimately won.) However, when I played the first Dark Souls game, I often felt like I was banging my head against a brick wall, without making any tangible progress to show for my efforts.

Granted, back in 2015, I did beat Bloodborne. Its focus on aggressive combat really suited my playstyle, and its gothic-horror world gripped me far more than Dark Souls’ fantasy one. Even so, I’ve never considered myself a Souls advocate. I just assumed that From's very particular style of game didn't appeal to my specific tastes. Then, Elden Ring came along. 

Elden Ring’s open world is a game changer  

Previous Souls games were somewhat open. Players had the freedom to venture off the beaten path, backtrack, and discover optional areas and bosses at their leisure. However, Elden Ring is the first truly open-world game in the Souls style. 

It's almost impossible to quantify how much of a difference this makes. Calling it a "game changer" almost feels like selling it short. The open world of Elden Ring is deeply immersive. I've praised Horizon Forbidden West for taking smart cues from Breath of the Wild, but Elden Ring doesn’t just take a few cues: It essentially copies the same formula, and to equally great success. 

Rather than a map littered with dozens of overwhelming icons and mission markers, such as Assassin’s Creed Valhalla or Dying Light 2, Elden Ring keeps things simple. The game vaguely points you in the direction you’re supposed to go, then leaves you to figure out the exact route. 

There’s also so much to discover if you step away from the critical path. Most of my time with Elden Ring so far feels worthwhile. I’ve sparred against a pumpkin-headed giant, and discovered an elevator that descends deep into an underground cavern, filled with nightmare clay monsters. These represent just the tip of the iceberg, but I would feel bad for spoiling any more of the game's numerous secrets. 

The open world doesn’t just add a remarkable sense of exploration to Elden Ring, but also fixes one of my biggest issues with previous Souls games: progression blockers. If you stumble upon a section or boss in Elden Ring that you’re struggling to overcome, you don’t have to waste hours getting frustrated. You can just wander off in a different direction and see what you can find. 

In previous Souls games, I’ve often reached a challenging boss that I didn’t feel quite ready to fight. At that point, my two options basically boiled down to attempting the boss for hours on end, or tediously replaying previous sections to level up. Neither option was very enticing. 

Elden Ring completely removes that no-win situation. If the game’s first mandatory boss Margit the Fell Omen is kicking your butt, head South of Limgrave and explore the massive (completely optional) Weeping Peninsula region, which offers its own mini-dungeon and optional set of bosses. That’s a level of freedom that no other Souls game has offered.  

Elden Ring makes hard a little easier

Just to make it abundantly clear, Elden Ring is a tough game. You won’t hear me arguing to the contrary. Just like every other Souls game, you are going to die a lot in Elden Ring. Even basic enemies can vanquish you with just a few strikes if you’re not paying close attention. 

However, From has made a few small tweaks in Elden Ring that tip the odds in the player’s favor. The first is the generous placement of Sites of Grace. These are essentially respawn spots where the player returns after death. 

The original Dark Souls is fairly stingy with its bonfires (its version of Sites of Grace). Even worse, the first few Souls game had a nasty habit of not placing respawn sites within close proximity of boss fights. 

This created frustrating moments where you’d have to navigate around dozens of smaller enemies just to get back to the boss that killed you, only to die again, and have to repeat the whole tedious process. I still have nightmares about the boss run to fight Pontiff Sulyvahn in Dark Souls 3. 

In Elden Ring, this is far less of a problem, as you can find Sites of Grace all over the place, especially near critical areas. For example, there is one located literally seconds from the area where you face Margit. This made dying over and over again to the boss far less frustrating, as I face him again within 30 seconds (even less, if you’re playing on PS5). 

Early on, you get the ability to summon spectral spirits to aid you in battle, courtesy of a mysterious witch. Previous Souls games have allowed you to invite a co-op partner to help (as does Elden Ring), but these spirits are even more convenient to call upon. 

The spirits are pretty powerful too, and can make some of the early-game bosses a cakewalk. In fact, I beat one boss without taking a single hit just because my pack of spirit wolves kept them distracted long enough for me to perform a couple of devastating backstabs. 

As noted, I’m not suggesting that FromSoftware has dramatically lowered the difficulty of Elden Ring compared to other Souls games. But the developer has ensured that the game’s brutal challenge doesn’t feel as insurmountable as it has previously. 

PSA: Elden Ring isn’t for everyone 

Recently, I've seen a few prominent industry voices push the idea that Elden Ring is a Souls game for people who don’t like Souls games. I strongly disagree with this take, however. As I've noted, Elden Ring is, for all intents and purposes, Dark Souls 4. 

Extremely difficult enemy encounters, a drip-fed story that raises more questions than it answers, a lack of explanation for basically every item you pick up and a highly methodical pace in combat — it's all here in Elden Ring. This isn’t the wheel reinvented; it’s just refreshed with some new rims, and slightly more durable rubber. 

If you’ve played the likes of Dark Souls and Bloodborne and utterly loathed them, I’m fairly confident you’ll feel the same way about Elden Ring. However if, like me, you’ve always appreciated Souls games on paper, but they've never quite clicked in practice, then Elden Ring could be exactly what you’ve been waiting for. 

Elden Ring is FromSoftware’s latest brutally punishing Action RPG. While similar to the company’s now-legendary Dark Souls series, it has the distinction of being set within a sprawling open world. It’s one of the best games of 2022 so far, as we detail in our Elden Ring review.

Like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Elden Ring has almost no map markers to show you where to go. Being left to your own devices is all well and good, but if you tend to speed through games like I do, the “go where you want” approach may be offputting. However, trying to plow through Elden Ring leads to disastrous results. Case in point – Margit, the Fell Omen.

It took me a little over two hours to face Elden Ring’s first true boss after starting the game — which is actually quite fast. The opening area has a lot of mini-bosses, but Margit is the first you have to defeat in order to progress the story.

The instant I was able to summon a mount, I rode it all the way to Margit’s location. I managed to get the boss’ health down to one-third before he took me down. He didn’t seem so bad, so I assumed I’d defeat Margit after a couple of tries. Two hours later, I gave up and reassessed my strategy. I realized I couldn't rush through Elden Ring.

Honestly, this is the case for all the “Souls” titles. It’s best to meticulously scour each of the games’ locations for useful items and to level grind by defeating enemies. But, generally speaking, grinding for levels isn’t something that ever took up much time. My first playthrough of Bloodborne, Dark Souls III and the remastered Demon’s Souls generally took me 30 hours. But even though I didn’t necessarily rush through those titles, I probably finished them faster than I should have.

Despite the open world, I went into Elden Ring using the same strategy I employed with previous Souls titles. And it backfired on me. Spectacularly. So what did I do? I returned to the very first Light of Grace (Elden Ring’s version of Dark Souls’ bonfire checkpoints) and started wandering the vast world to see what trouble I could get myself into – which is something I don’t really do in video games. But, after gaining a few more levels and nabbing better equipment, I finally defeated Margit — and learned a valuable lesson.

A lot of people aren’t fans of open-world games that place a million quest markers on their respective maps. They feel that knowing where quests, items and secrets are located ruins the joy of exploration and discovery. I don’t share this sentiment. I’m a completionist and appreciate it when a game shows me where interesting things are located. This way, I won’t miss anything. The way I see it, I’ll run into potential surprises on my way to a quest marker. When I play, I like to be as efficient as possible so I can get the most out of my gaming session. Quest markers facilitate my need to complete every quest and to have a streamlined experience.

But that isn't the way Elden Ring works. You're supposed to venture into the world not fully knowing what to expect. To my surprise, I’m having a blast simply traversing the bleak lands without a clear goal beyond gaining levels and better gear.

Aimless wandering is one of the reasons I wasn’t enamored with Breath of the Wild. But perhaps, due to it being mechanically similar to other Souls entries, I don’t mind not having a definitive focus. The otherworldly art design probably plays a part as well. No matter where I go, there's always something interesting (and disturbing) to see. I feel like I'm playing the game correctly now.

Stopping to smell the proverbial roses in Elden Ring has made me rethink how I should approach games in the future. Due to the abundance of titles that release every month, I always feel compelled to blast through them so I can be ready for whatever big title comes out next. I don’t think I’ll linger on any one title for too long, but I’ll do my best to fight the urge to complete games as quickly as I can. This may not always be possible, especially for games I need to finish for a review, but for titles I play purely for enjoyment, I’m going to start playing them at a deliberate pace.

It takes developers years to create massive games like Elden Ring and Horizon Forbidden West. In turn, we wait nearly as long to play these grand opuses. Unless you’re a professional speedrunner, there’s no need to rush to see the end credits. This is a lesson Elden Ring had to literally beat into me. Tough love for sure, but I appreciate it will help me get more enjoyment out of my favorite hobby moving forward. I’ll never rush through games again, all thanks to Elden Ring.

Elden Ring is out now and it’s pretty much a masterpiece, successfully blending an open-world with the taught combat and challenge of Dark Souls. If you don't have the game yet, you may be wondering which platform to play it on. 

That's because there have been plenty of reports and deep dives into the performance of FromSoftware’s latest game. Even our own Rory Mellon rolled up his sleeves and did some testing. 

So read on to get an idea of the console or PC you should consider playing Elden Ring on for the best experience. 

Elden Ring on PS5  

Sony’s flagship console offers a “prioritize frame rate” and “prioritize quality” modes, both running at an unlocked frame rate. 

In the quality mode, Elden Ring runs at a fixed 4K resolution,  but this appears to be rather tasking for the console, according to Digital Foundry's testing, with it offering between 30 and 60 frames per second, but occasionally dipping to 20 fps. Unsteady frame pacing means the experience can be rather unsmooth on the PS5, which means you may be best off with the performance mode. 

Aside from shadow rendering, there’s not a lot of difference between the visuals of the performance and quality modes.

In the prioritize frame rate mode, Elden Ring offers a minimum resolution of 2,688 x 1,512 going up to a full 4K. But this doesn’t mean the PS5 can deliver a smooth 60 fps experience. It's more consistently in the 50 fps range, and there are less dramatic frame rate drops. We’d suggest opting for the frame rate mode over the quality one. 

Loading times is where the PS5 shines, taking an average of 7 seconds to load the game after players die. Given Elden Ring is a game with a lot of deaths, this is a tick in the PS5’s box. 

Elden Ring on Xbox Series X 

In a nutshell, the Xbox Series X has the same performance options and parameters as the PS5. But Sony’s console tends to be faster overall, with a 10 fps lead when exploring the Lands Between on foot, compared to the big black box from Microsoft. 

The system-level support for a variable refresh rate (VRR) can help inject a dose of stability in Elden Ring. Those of you with 120Hz refresh rate TVs, like the LG C1 OLED, can use VRR and set the display to only refresh at 60hz in order to make any frame rate drops feel a little smoother. 

The Series X falls down when it comes to loading times, sadly. In our testing, the Xbox Series X took around 19 seconds of loading to boot the game from the main menu, and average loading speeds of 12 seconds to get back into the fray after a death.

It’s not the longest of loading times compared to some open-world games on last-generation consoles. But it’s long enough to potentially frustrated gamers used to the speedy loading times of other games. 

Elden Ring on Xbox Series S 

Unsurprisingly, the lower-powered Xbox Series S isn’t aiming to deliver 4K Elden Ring action, though its quality mode is set at 2,560 x 1,440 and delivers a frame rate of about 30 fps. 

Flip to frame rate mode and dynamic resolution is deployed, with Elden Ring going from  1,792 x 1,008 to 2,560 x 1,440. This sees the frame rate jump into the high 40 fps. But Digital Foundry noted that there’s a lack of consistency in this mode, though it’s likely to be better for the gaming action than the quality mode. 

The graphics kicked out by the Series S tends to hold up well in comparison to the PS5 and Xbox Series X. But the visual presentation is understandably not as crisp compared to the more powerful machines. 

Loading times are broadly similar to those of the Xbox Series X, with Digital Foundry measuring 17 seconds of loading. 

Elden Ring on PC 

As it stands, we suggest you might want to steer clear of Elden Ring on the PC for the time being. Even if you have one of our picks from the best gaming PCs list, Elden Ring is currently locked at 60 fps, meaning you may not be able to bring the power of a Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 to bear even if you have one. 

Add into the mix a slew issues with Elden Ring on the PC, and it’s perhaps not the platform we'd chose to use. But FromSoftware did release a day one patch — though issues apparently still remain — and has said it will work on improving the game on PC. 

But with frame rate issues and stuttering still being reported, Elden Ring’s performance on the PC is still sub-par. So we suggest waiting for more updates or playing on console. 

Bottom line: Play Elden Ring on PS5  

Going by our findings as well as those of Digital Foundry and others, we recommend that the best way to play Elden Ring right now is on the PS5. 

Granted, the console is a chunky beast and you may need to plumb the depths of PS5 restocks to find one. But Elden Ring is a critically acclaimed game that you'll want to experience in the best way possible, so it will likely be worth the PS5 pursuit. 

Update: Another Game of Thrones spin off is coming, and George RR Martin just confirmed it will focus on Jon Snow

Elden Ring is the latest brutally-challenging action RPG from From Software the developer behind Dark Souls, Bloodborne and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. Helmed by legendary game director Hidetaka Miyazaki, the critically acclaimed title is also a collaboration with novelist George R. R. Martin. 

Martin is, of course, most famous for his fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire which was adapted in the wildly popular HBO series Game of Thrones. Martin worked alongside Miyazaki to create Elden Ring’s world and establish a foundation for the game’s intriguing but fairly ambiguous story. 

Miyazaki and From Software clearly enjoyed working with Martin, as they left a hidden Game of Thrones Easter egg within the massive world of Elden Ring. Even better, it’s not just a winking nod, it’s a weapon that you can use to vanish some of the Lands Between's most deadly foes. 

Called the Grafted Blade Greatsword, the weapon is a clear reference to the iconic Iron Throne from the Game of Thrones series. Like its royal chair inspiration, the sword is made up of several sharp blades all meshed together into a single weapon that looks particularly spiky. 

If you’re still exploring the early stages of Elden Ring (perhaps you’re grinding levels before tackling the game’s first boss Margit the Fell Omen?) you can still unlock this sword. This is because the Grafted Blade Greatsword is found in one of the first areas of the game. 

Below we’ll walk you through exactly where you’ll find this Game of Thrones inspired blade, and what stats you'll need to actually wield it. 

How to find Elden Ring’s Game of Thrones sword

Your hunt for the Grafted Blade Greatsword begins in the Weeping Peninsula. This is an early game area to the South of the starting location, Limgrave. It’s actually fairly easy to skip this whole part of the map. Many players will head straight for Stormfront Castle in the North, but it’s well worth exploring the Weeping Peninsula fully for its many secrets.  

Within the peninsula is a towering structure known as Castle Morne, you can’t really miss it. Once you’ve fought your way through the castle’s you’ll come up against a fearsome boss known as Leonine Misbegotten. Defeat this feral beast and your reward will be the Grafted Blade Greatsword. 

Unfortunately, once you’ve obtained the weapon, it’s unlikely you'll actually be able to wield it. This is because it requires you to have a strength stat of 40 to use it properly. We suggest storing it for now, and bringing it out for later battles once you’ve had the chance to level up a couple dozen times. 

As an aside, we recommend you play Elden Ring on the PS5, as that console appears to offer the best overall performance. 

Elden Ring is a demanding game. No matter what your experience level or playstyle, you can expect a lot of difficulty, devastation and death along the way. However, you can also expect soaring moments of triumph as you conquer seemingly impossible challenges. It’s all about mastering your preferred playstyle, and the first step is figuring out what that playstyle should be.

Elden Ring offers 10 different starting classes, and there’s something for everyone. Whether you want to begin as a hardy melee fighter, a crafty mage, a cunning archer or a mix of all three, there’s a starting class in Elden Ring sure to suit your tastes. If you want an extra challenge, there’s also a class that lets you start off with absolutely nothing, save for a simple wooden club.

The good news is that no matter which class you choose, you can alter your stats any way you wish, and equip any gear you like, as the game progresses. The starting classes are just that: places to start. So, to start off Elden Ring on the right foot, here are the pros and cons of each starting class.

A note on stats and equipment

The Elden Ring wiki has a comprehensive page that compares starting class stats and equipment. There are two reasons why I want to avoid giving the same information here:

• There’s no reason to rehash the exact same information as the wiki
• This page is primarily for new players, who may not have an innate understanding of what all the stats mean, anyway

Instead, we’ll discuss general pros, cons and playstyles. For more comprehensive information, consult the wiki, or the game itself.

Vagabond

Description: A hardy melee fighter with a variety of armaments.

Playstyle: Choose the Vagabond if you want the quintessential Soulsborne experience: getting up close and personal with your enemies, learning to block and dodge as you go. The Vagabond comes with high HP and strength, making him well-suited to melee combat with his sword, shield and halberd. You’ll slash enemies into submission, ideally one-on-one.

Pros: High strength and health; Intuitive starting gear

Cons: No ranged weapons; No magic

Warrior

Description: A dexterous melee fighter with light armor and dual swords

Playstyle: If you like your melee fighters agile and versatile, the Warrior is a compelling choice. You’ll still fight most enemies head-on, learning their patterns and dodging frequently. What sets the Warrior apart is that he (or she) starts with two scimitars and a relatively weak shield. This means that while you can block some damage, you’ll probably want to dual-wield instead and learn how to avoid melee damage.

Pros: Dual-wielding is fun; Good stats for curved swords and bows

Cons: Less health than most melee classes; No ranged weapons

Hero

Description: A powerful melee fighter with an axe and shield

Playstyle: If you want a melee fighter with essentially no aptitude for magic or ranged weapons, the Hero is the way to go. Unlike the Vagabond and the Warrior, the Hero has low dexterity, meaning you can lean into strength-based weaponry. He (or she) also has pretty high health, so you can take a few hits while you dish them out. Pick Hero if you eventually want to wield two-handed weapons.

Pros: High strength and health; Good starting weapons

Cons: No aptitude for ranged weapons or magic; Armor doesn’t mitigate much damage

Bandit

Description: A versatile explorer with a variety of gear

Playstyle: The Bandit is all about making the most of Elden Ring’s open world. His (or her) highest combat stat is Dexterity, which is useful for the knife and bow that he carries. But his highest stat overall is Arcane, which affects how often you find items in the world — and how good those items are. Arcane also helps with spellcasting, if you choose to pick that up later in the game.

Pros: Great at finding items; Competent melee and ranged fighter

Cons: Spellcasting requires huge investments; No standout combat skills

Astrologer

Description: An arcane spellcaster with a staff and magic spells

Playstyle: The Astrologer is an easy recommendation for players who want to go the offensive spellcaster route. While the Astrologer starts with a sword and shield, his (or her) main focus is on Glintstone sorcery, which can dish out tremendous damage at a range. With high Mind and Intelligence stats, the Astrologer can learn multiple spells and cast them repeatedly. But in a melee fight, he won’t last long.

Pros: Powerful spellcasting; Robust starting magic

Cons: Low health and stamina; Weak melee equipment

Prophet

Description: A holy spellcaster with healing and fire

Playstyle: If you want to focus on holy magic, the Prophet is one possibility. He (or she) starts with high Faith and Mind stats, which govern how many spells he can learn and how often he can cast them. His health and strength are low, but not abysmally so, and his short spear can keep most enemies at a healthy distance. He also starts off with both healing magic and an offensive fire spell.

Pros: Can play offensively or defensively; Versatile starting spells

Cons: Not that durable; Weak starting shield

Samurai

Description: A versatile melee and ranged fighter

Playstyle: The Samurai is the perfect choice for players who want both ranged and melee options, but don’t care about spellcasting. To start, you’ll get a katana, a longbow and a shield, which should give you an idea of how to handle most encounters. The Samurai boasts high Dexterity, which is great for ranged combat, as well as decent Strength, health and stamina, which give him (or her) an advantage in melee fights.

Pros: Great physical stats; Useful starting equipment

Cons: No spellcasting; Mediocre starting shield

Prisoner

Description: A dexterous fighter and spellcaster

Playstyle: For players who can’t decide whether they want to fight enemies up close or from a distance, the Prisoner is a good choice. His (or her) high Dexterity and Intelligence mean that he can dish out plenty of damage with his Estoc, or his Glintblade sorcery. He has decent health, stamina and focus points, so players can make a few mistakes while they figure out which playstyle works best for them.

Pros: Versatile playstyle; Well-rounded stats

Cons: Weak starting armor; Doesn’t excel at anything

Confessor

Description: A versatile holy spellcaster

Playstyle: The Confessor is where you’ll want to start if you want both melee capabilities and holy Incantations. He (or she) starts with a strong sword and shield, as well as healing magic and the stats to use all of them equally well. The Confessor has high survivability, since he can block most damage and heal the rest, although he’s neither as durable as a pure melee class, or as powerful magically as a pure spellcaster.

Pros: Highly durable; Good starting gear and spells

Cons: Low item discovery; Not much health

Wretch

Description: A nearly naked warrior with only a club

Playstyle: If you’ve played a Soulsborne game before, you might make a beeline for the Wretch. If you haven’t, though, you may want to steer clear. The Wretch is the weakest starting class, with low stats across the board, absolutely no defensive equipment and only a clumsy wooden club to his (or her) name. The flip side is that you can customize him any way you like — if you survive long enough to earn better weapons and gear.

Pros: Tremendous customization potential; Extra early-game challenge

Cons: Too punishing for newcomers; No “best” route for leveling up

Elden Ring starting class recommendations

Since we're trying to help first-timers choose an Elden Ring class, I should at least take a crack at recommending a few options. Vagabond seems like the most obvious choice for melee fighters, although Samurai has a lot going for it as well, particularly since you can use a bow to lure out enemies one at a time.

On the spellcasting side, I think Confessor is versatile enough to survive anything the early-game can throw at you. Likewise, I think Prisoner is a little more durable than some of the “pure” spellcasting choices.

The only class I wouldn’t recommend for first-timers is Wretch — and the game’s director said as much, too. Frankly, Elden Ring has enough systems to master without having to spend your first hard-earned Runes on expensive weapons and armor. It’s also daunting to have no idea which stats will be helpful, and which will be a waste, especially since you can’t re-spec your character until much later in the game.

Once you get underway, be sure to check out our Elden Ring tips to help you survive, and our guide to Margit the Fell Omen if you’re having trouble with the first boss. Also see our guide on how to beat Starscourge Radahn in Elden Ring.

Update: Elden Ring is best on PS5 full stop. 

It seems like almost the entire gaming world is currently infatuated with Elden Ring. For good reason, the latest tough-as-nails action RPG from developer FromSoftware is as engaging as it is difficult. However, if you’ve yet to jump in, you might want to consider playing on PS5 as Sony’s flagship console has a major advantage over the Xbox Series X. 

While Elden Ring suffers from noticeable framerate dips on both next-gen consoles, there’s a real disparity when it comes to loading times. As highlighted in IGN’s performance review video, players on PS5 will enjoy significantly less time spent looking at loading screen tips compared to those on Xbox Series X. 

If you're playing on PC, check out our Elden Ring PC issues guide and what you can do about the problems. 

During IGN’s testing, the publication found that on PS5 the average loading speed was around 7 seconds, while on Xbox Series X it could take as long as 20 seconds before players were dropped back into action. 

I spent my weekend diving into Elden Ring on Xbox Series X and can confirm that I experienced around 19 seconds of loading to boot the game from the main menu, and average loading speeds of 12 seconds to get back into the fray after a death. 

Loading speeds of roughly 20 seconds might not sound like a particularly big deal, especially when on PS4 and Xbox One loading times could exceed a full minute in some large open world games, however Elden Ring is a game where death is a constant. Unlike say Dying Light 2 Stay Human, where you could conceivably go lengthy stretches without seeing a single loading screen, in Elden Ring you’ll die frequently, and upon each death you'll be greeted with another period of loading. 

Each death being paired with 20 seconds of loading feels like an extra punishment on Xbox Series X. This loading discrepancy becomes a real pain when you’re attempting to beat a challenging boss and dying at a regular clip. It’s also a factor when fast travelling across the map, which is something you’ll also do regularly in Elden Ring. 

This difference in loading speeds really showcases the power of the PS5’s custom SSD. The PS5 may come with less native storage space than the Xbox Series X (825GB vs 1TB), but the drive in Sony’s console can manage speeds of 5.5GB per second which is double that of Microsoft's flagship Xbox which clocks in at around 2.4GB per second. 

If you’ve only access to an Xbox console, this issue is by no means a deal breaker. As noted, I’m personally exploring the Lands Between on Xbox Series X and having a blast regardless. But if you have the choice to play on PS5 you absolutely should. Right now, it definitely appears to be the superior console platform. 

If you’re currently about to embark on your own Elden Ring playthrough, we’ve got a range of tips to help you survive. Also, don’t worry if you’re finding the first boss encounter a little difficult. If you can beat Elden’s Ring first boss, then you can beat the whole game. Remember, the key to overcoming a challenging Souls-like game is persistence. Also, make sure to find this hidden Game of Thrones Easter egg. 

As you can tell from our Elden Ring review, the Tom’s Guide crew likes FromSoftware’s latest game quite a bit. We love its ambitious open world; we love its tight gameplay; we love its mysterious story and setting. One thing we don’t love, however, is that the game has some significant technical issues on PC. And, frustratingly, there’s not a whole lot the average player can do to address them at the moment.

I didn’t discuss Elden Ring’s PC performance in my review, as it’s always difficult to gauge whether technical issues are widespread, or limited to your particular hardware setup. However, all you need is one glance at Elden Ring’s Steam page to see that the game doesn’t run as well as it could. Most of the game’s negative reviews have nothing to do with Elden Ring’s demanding gameplay or opaque story; they’re all about how poorly the game runs, even on powerful GPUs.

I can vouch for this firsthand. I played the game on both an MSI gaming laptop with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 and a custom-built desktop with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070, and both of them suffered from almost identical issues. The frame rate stuttering was a significant issue, as was a serious graphical glitch that made enemies become invisible. The game is supposed to be hard, but not that hard.

Some of these issues have workarounds; most don’t. But here are some issues that Elden Ring is currently experiencing on PC, and whether you can do anything about them.

Elden Ring frame rate stuttering

The issue: While playing Elden Ring on PC, no matter how powerful your system, the game will occasionally start chugging, dropping frames one moment, then compensating with wildly fast animations the next. This is obviously a death sentence in a game that demands split-second-precision.

The fix: This probably goes without saying, but you should update your graphics card driver to the latest version. If you have an Nvidia GPU, you can do this in the GeForce experience software; if you have an AMD GPU, you can do this in the Radeon software. I realize most players have probably already tried this, but it’s worth double-checking — I had forgotten to do this before I started other troubleshooting methods, and it would have saved me a lot of time.

Otherwise, FromSoftware claims on Steam that it is “constantly working to improve the game so that it can be played comfortably on various PC environments and platforms.” In other words: Hang tight and wait for a patch. It’s not an ideal solution, but it’s the only one we’ve got.

Elden Ring frame rate lock

The issue: Elden Ring is locked at 60 frames per second, which isn’t ideal in a game that benefits from fast, fluid animations. It’s especially frustrating if you’re playing on a powerful system that could easily support higher frame rates.

The fix: Again, this is one of those “wait for a patch” issues — if FromSoftware decides to uncap the frame rate, which it may not do. In the meantime, there’s a mod available to unlock the frame rate. We wouldn’t necessarily recommend using it, however, as unauthorized mods and tightly regulated online play don’t usually mix well together.

Elden Ring invisible enemy glitch

The issue: While it’s not as widespread as some of the other issues, some systems suffer from a glitch that turns all enemies in Elden Ring invisible as soon as you target-lock them. Even untargeting them doesn’t restore their visibility. In a game that’s as difficult as Elden Ring, this additional hurdle makes it nearly impossible to play.

The fix: From my own experience, I can say that updating my GPU drivers seemed to clear this up. If you’re having similar problems and you’re absolutely sure your GPU drivers are up to date, you might consider a clean driver install — or just hang tight for a patch.

Elden Ring Easy Anti-Cheat issues

The issue: Elden Ring uses the Easy Anti-Cheat program to ensure that online play is fair for everyone. However, Easy Anti-Cheat sometimes refuses to launch, which means that the whole game refuses to launch alongside it.

The fix: Elden Ring’s patch 1.02.1 seems to have fixed this issue. The fix went live on Feb. 26, so if you haven’t downloaded it yet, get on Steam and do so. Your client should automatically download the patch before the game starts.

If that fails, I was able to work around this issue by uninstalling and reinstalling the game, although that’s admittedly an extreme fix.

Elden Ring mouse sensitivity

The issue: Elden Ring’s mouse sensitivity is way higher than it should be, making it difficult to move the camera or navigate through menus.

The fix: If you insist on playing Elden Ring with a mouse and keyboard, you have a few options. The simplest is to wait for a patch, as FromSoftware is aware of this issue and currently working on it. If you have a gaming mouse, however, you can use your software (such as Razer Synapse or Logitech G Hub) to lower your mouse DPI and hopefully find a happy medium.

The other alternative would be to just use a gamepad, such as an Xbox or DualSense controller. It’s an expensive option, but frankly, Elden Ring is a console game at heart. It’s much easier to control with a gamepad than it is with a mouse and keyboard, even when everything is working properly.

Read next: Don’t buy The Last Of Us Part 1 on PC yet — it’s a mess.