Elden Ring's release date is fast approaching and fans of the Souls series of games have been honing their skills in preparation for both player-versus-environment and player-versus-player encounters. To this end, many veterans and new players alike have turned to Dark Souls 3 due to its similarities with Elden Ring's gameplay.
When playing online in Dark Souls 3, players sometimes encounter others using hacks, cheats, or exploits. In the majority of cases, these exploits simply lead to an unfair fight, with the exploit giving one player invincibility, unlimited resources, etc.
However, a new exploit has been discovered in Dark Souls 3 that is reportedly extremely dangerous to players and their computers. According to Twitter user @SkeleMann, the exploit functions more like a Trojan Horse virus than a simple cheat, attacking players' computers, data, and personal information. Because of this, @SkeleMann has strongly advised Dark Souls 3 players to stay offline if possible, encouraging players to try Dark Souls 3 mods instead.
Twitter user @SkeleMann also advised players with anti-cheat mods to stay offline as well, as one of the most popular and trusted among these mods does not shield against the exploit in its current state. The mod, titled Blue Sentinels, is designed to extremely limit or completely nullify the ability of cheaters or hackers, allowing players to experience online play safely. Currently, the creators of the mod are working on an update targeting the new exploit, but until then, players are strongly urged to stay offline.
What's worse about the exploit is that @SkeleMann has reported the issue may be present in Elden Ring as well. Considering the hype Elden Ring has experienced pre-launch, one can assume tons of players will be playing online on its release date. Because of this, if an exploit this dangerous is allowed to exist, players' safety will be compromised. According to an update from @SkeleMann, the person who found the exploit was a player who has since kept it a secret, letting FromSoftware know about the issue. User @SkeleMann then posted images displaying a conversation between a user and a FromSoftware employee, confirming FromSoftware has been made aware of the issue and is currently working on a fix for both Dark Souls 3 and Elden Ring.
With Elden Ring releasing in just over a month, it is imperative for FromSoftware to iron out bugs, cheats, and especially dangerous exploits like this one. The safety of players needs to come first, so here's to hoping FromSoftware fixes this and any other issues as soon as possible.
Dark Souls 3 is now available on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
