Fall damage is a core mechanic in Elden Ring, and the way that it is implemented can seem a bit inconsistent during gameplay. Indeed, players may occasionally feel as though the distance between taking no damage from a fall and dying is miniscule, and this phenomenon can prove to be quite frustrating. This guide is here to shine some light on this experience and offer a general overview of how fall damage works in Elden Ring.
Elden Ring: How Fall Damage Works
Fall Damage Distances & Amounts
Fall damage in Elden Ring is assigned based on the distance of a fall, and there are two specific distances to be aware of. The first one is 16 meters, and it is the height at which fall damage starts to be applied. The second one is 20 meters, and any fall that is from that height or beyond it will be fatal. This means that the window for taking damage from a fall but not dying to it is very small, at just a hair less than 4 meters, which can lead to the mechanic feeling inconsistent.
This feeling is exacerbated by the specific amounts of fall damage that are applied within that window. At 16 meters, when the mechanic kicks in, fall damage is 30% of a player's max health by default. At just a centimeter less than 20 meters, the point at which a fall is lethal, that damage reaches 50% of an Elden Ring player's max health by default. As such, the difference between losing only half health and dying from a fall is a nearly-imperceptible distance.
Fall Damage Amount Modifiers
The phrase "by default" is used above because there are a few things that can modify the amount of fall damage that is applied. An Elden Ring character's Dexterity is one of those things, and fall damage is decreased when that stat is 21 or higher. However, this modification is extremely minimal, with 16-meter falls dealing 24% max health damage and 19.9-meter falls dealing 40% max health damage at 99 Dexterity.
Equip Load in Elden Ring is another thing that modifies fall damage, and the amount increases once a character reaches 71% of their max load. Specifically, 16-meter falls deal 33% max health damage and 20-meter falls deal 55% max health damage at 100% equip load. Again, this modification is quite negligible, but it is mentioned here for the sake of completeness.
The final things that alter fall damage are the Assassin's Approach Incantation, the Longtail Cat Talisman, and Soft Cotton, which all eliminate non-lethal fall damage. They will not prevent players from dying to 20+ meter falls, though, which means that they are not particularly useful. On the other hand, Elden Ring's Rainbow Stones are useful items for avoiding death-by-falling, as they will shatter if they are thrown from a lethal height.
Kill Boxes and Scripted Events
While the rules outlined above are applicable in the vast majority of situations, there are some exceptional types of falls to be aware of. The first type are falls, like dropping into a deep body of water, that cause players to pass through kill boxes and trigger the overhead death cam. The other type are scripted events where fans can safely fall well beyond 20 meters. Standard fall damage is not applied in these situations, and it should be quite obvious when they are in effect.
Torrent
One final topic to cover is how fall damage interacts with Torrent in Elden Ring. In essence, the same rules apply, with falls between 16 meters and 19.9 meters dealing damage and falls from 20 meters and above killing the player. This remains true even if a fan double jumps with Torrent, as that maneuver has no impact on how the distance of a fall is calculated.
Elden Ring is available now for PC, PlayStation 4 and 5, and Xbox One and Series X|S.
