The much-awaited release of Elden Ring hasn't disappointed in the slightest. The game is absolutely brilliant and deserves all the love and attention it's receiving. Expectations were high for FromSoftware's first-ever open-world title, and it didn't disappoint with its stellar world design. Given the interconnected nature of most of FromSoftware's games, it's clear that having this expertise while designing a massive open-world would be quite useful indeed.
Fans of Dark Souls are going to have a blast with what most people consider to be FromSoftware's greatest game. That being said, using the same strategies that were viable in Dark Souls is pretty much asking for death over and over again. Keeping this in mind, here are some lessons from the Souls games that are bound to get new players killed in Elden Ring.
6 Rolling Around In Poison Swamps To Reach Areas Quickly
Poison swamps are a constant across most FromSoftware games. The sheer number of times that players have had to traverse these annoying environments is so immense that most people correctly assumed that Elden Ring would have the same kinds of areas as well. These are just as cumbersome to traverse as ever, and it's easy to see why some people would prefer to just roll around and get to safe areas as fast as possible.
However, in Elden Ring, this behavior is punished pretty severely. If players decide to hasten their approach by rolling around in poison swamps, then they get coated with a generous helping of poison that still affects them even after they get out of this area. So, players are just better off holding down the sprint button and getting to safe ground as soon as possible to avoid any unnecessary poison buildup.
5 Spamming Light Attacks Without Any Variations
Players who prefer getting one or two quick hits in Dark Souls games before heading to safety will find Elden Ring to be an especially challenging endeavor. While this Light Attack spam might've worked in earlier games, Elden Ring's expanded moveset is so effective that players should definitely focus on diversifying their moveset instead of sticking to the same attack pattern over and over again.
The addition of Ashes of War coupled with new move variations — such as jumping attacks, guard counters, and the like — means that combat is now more dynamic than ever before. Players can dish out a ton of damage if they use a bunch of combos to overpower their opposition with ease. After all, a Light Attack spam can easily be countered by certain enemies in the game as well!
4 Focusing On Physical Attacks Instead Of Magical Ones
Given the apparently restrictive nature of the combat in Dark Souls — which was significantly expanded upon in sequels — most people would assume that physical attacks are the safest and most reliable way to deal with enemies in Elden Ring. However, players who decide to only focus on the physical aspect of combat will be limiting their overall damage output in the game considerably.
Instead, players are better off combining physical attacks with bursts of magic to keep combat interesting and also deal a ton of damage. It's a great way to make combat flashy and exciting while also massively increasing a player's damage output, something that is very much required in a game where enemies have a ton of HP and hit really hard too.
3 Adopting A Defensive Strategy For Most Fights
Passive playstyles were the norm in Dark Souls, where player and enemy attacks were pretty methodical and took their sweet time before landing. While combat wasn't slow per se, this did mean that players could hang back and let enemies come to them instead of charging into every fight. This also made a defensive approach pretty viable, with players sneaking in a few quick hits before pulling back and assessing the battlefield once again.
However, FromSoftware's combat system has gone through several changes since then, with the games becoming more fast-paced and forcing players to think on the fly instead of hanging back and taking their sweet time. This is the case in Elden Ring as well, with certain enemies absolutely punishing players for being overly defensive. Instead, players need to combine offense and defense more effectively to attain victory in these battles.
2 Exploring Areas On Foot
Given the limited means of traversal in most games before Elden Ring, most players are pretty used to staying on their own two feet for most of this experience. However, in Elden Ring, players can summon a mount by the name of Torrent that can make exploration substantially easier and more fun in the game.
Players should get used to controlling this well-programmed mount in the game, especially given its helpful double-jump ability as well. Players can also engage in horseback combat to outpace enemies on foot and deal some immense damage in the process.
1 Not Using Stealth To Make Encounters Easier
While players could walk slowly in Dark Souls to sneak up on unaware enemies, stealth was never a major mechanic in these games. Most encounters needed to be faced head-on without fail.
This isn't the case in Elden Ring, where Sekiro's stealth system has made an appearance as well. While there aren't any stealthy one-shot kills that can be carried out, players can still land backstabs on powerful enemies in a group or put themselves in an advantageous position before starting a battle.
Elden Ring is available for PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S.