The release of Elden Ring is nothing short of a monumental success that lived up to the years of hype generated by this game. FromSoftware took everything they learned from the development of previous games in the Soulsborne series and integrated it into an open-world environment that is an absolute joy to explore.
Given how popular Elden Ring has become, it's only a given that more and more new players will be getting into this fantastic title. However, most Soulsborne games can be pretty unforgiving to beginners who aren't familiar with the mechanics of FromSoftware's games, and Elden Ring is no exception. Here are some common mistakes that most people make while playing Elden Ring.
Updated May 7, 2022 by Ritwik Mitra: FromSoftware's games have been pretty popular in their own right, but Elden Ring has shattered every record possible for this company. The title is selling like hotcakes, to the point where more and more newcomers to the Souls series have been trying out the game for themselves. Here are some mistakes these rookies should avoid making while traversing the Lands Between.
15 Not Putting Enough Points Into Vigor
Vigor is the stat that determines how much health a player will have. Some people tend to skip this in favor of creating specialized builds, which is a huge mistake.
Later areas in the game are brutally challenging and will absolutely punish players who don't put enough points into this stat. Getting one-shotted is a horrible feeling that most players should try to avoid in the game.
14 Trying To Tackle High-Level Areas
Given the open-world nature of Elden Ring, it's only a given that some players might stumble upon some of the tougher areas in the game. This can prove to be quite a pain since most enemies here will absolutely stomp the player over and over again.
Players should temper their expectations and try mastering the areas that precede these high-level slaughter fests. Patience is key to gaining power and tackling tougher enemies in Elden Ring.
13 Repeating The Same Challenging Boss Over And Over Again
Trying to fight a powerful boss over and over again is the Elden Ring equivalent of bashing one's head against a wall over and over again. Sure, the wall might eventually break down...but at what cost? Players should take advantage of Elden Ring being an open-world game and gain Runes through other avenues of exploration instead of trying to fight the same hard boss multiple times in a row.
12 Not Using Jumping And Crouch Attacks
Most players familiar with Souls titles would use a ton of rolling and heavy attacks to deal substantial damage. However, the alternate modes of traversal in Elden Ring have opened up new offensive opportunities as well.
Jumping and attacking have pretty much replaced the strong attack that players can unleash. Crouch-striking also lets players unleash an attack that is normally done after a roll, which can open up more avenues in combat!
11 Failing To Perform A Fairly Thorough Exploration Of The World
Exploration is key to getting stronger in Elden Ring. Players get more items and deal with more enemies as they traverse the open world, allowing them to get more powerful over time. A half-baked journey through the world of Elden Ring is pretty much asking for trouble. Instead, players should take their time and explore this vast world, which is rich and filled to the brim with secrets.
10 Assuming That The Character Classes Are Rigid
Elden Ring allows players to choose their character classes early on. While this might seem like a decision that is set in stone from the get-go, this couldn't be further away from the truth.
These character classes just give a direction for the Tarnished early on which can be molded by the player. It's not a rigid character class in the slightest, and players have all the freedom to branch out into another class if need be.
9 Putting Too Many Points Into Faith Early On
Faith and Intelligence govern the two major branches of magic and dictate the various abilities players can use in battle. Intelligence governs the power and usability of Sorceries, while Faith does the same but for Incantations.
While it might seem fairly simple to choose between one or the other, beginners will find it extremely challenging to find any proper Incantations in the early game. Sorceries are more abundant here, and players who want to make the game easier for themselves should try investing in Intelligence over Faith.
8 Spamming The Dodge Button Without A Care In The World
Dodge-spamming is a common problem that most Soulsborne players are familiar with. Thoughtless dodging in random directions is pretty much asking for death.
Instead, players should understand the moveset of an enemy first before realizing the best course of action to take. Dodging in a specific action, blocking, or parrying is viable given the situation.
7 Not Finding The Map Fragments As Soon As Possible
When players venture into the world of Elden Ring, they'll find the map to be almost non-existent. There's little to no direction given to the player when they open this map, which makes for a refreshing change of pace from other open-world games.
That being said, players don't need to remain directionless for too long. There are certain icons on the map that indicates where the player can find map fragments and get a more detailed overview of the world.
6 Getting Frustrated After A Death
The biggest mistake a player can make in Elden Ring is getting angry or frustrated after a death. Elden Ring has incredibly tight mechanics and gives the player several options to deal with any given situation.
If a player dies, then it's almost always their fault and means that they need to utilize a different strategy or just explore another portion of the map. Death is a learning experience, not an excuse to quit playing this fantastic game.
5 Failing To Upgrade Weapons As Soon As Possible
While players can increase their stats to improve scaling with certain weapons, it leads to a very minimal damage increase. The real increase in power comes from upgrading weapons instead.
So, it goes without saying that players should never skimp out on upgrading their weapons whenever they have the chance. The increase in damage enjoyed by an upgraded weapon makes Elden Ring's enemies way easier to deal with.
4 Hoarding Runes For No Reason Whatsoever
Runes are the equivalent of Blood Echoes and Souls in Elden Ring. As is the case in most other FromSoftware games, players who die lose all their Runes and have one shot to get these Runes back, which are forever lost if players die again.
This means that players should, under no circumstances, hoard these Runes in the game. Death can come at a moment's notice, and players who aren't ready to deal with certain enemies will find themselves rueing the decision to stock up on these Runes without cashing them in.
3 Healing At Inopportune Moments
Healing is extremely important to get through the most grueling fights in Elden Ring. However, most people make the classic mistake of spamming the heal button almost directly after getting hit for massive damage.
Players should be smart in such a situation and always safeguard themselves before chugging down a Flash of Crimson Tears. If the proper distance isn't maintained, then players will find themselves getting hit right after healing themselves and losing all the HP that was regenerated anyway.
2 Getting Greedy With Landing Hits
This is another classic mistake that most beginners are bound to make. Landing a hit and watching an enemy's HP go down is one of the most addictive parts of the game and something that wills people on to play this game despite being beaten to an absolute pulp at times.
That being said, players should always try and measure their hits instead of spamming attacks. Doing so ensures that they aren't locked into an animation right when the enemy is about to dish out some serious pain.
1 Assuming That All Player Messages Are Useful
The online aspect of Elden Ring is one of its most beloved aspects. Aside from the usual mechanic of having cooperators and invaders, players can also leave messages for other people to check out.
However, given the very nature of online gameplay itself, there are many trolls that have scattered nonsensical and wrong messages across the world. The worst part is other pranksters actually upvote these messages, so players should be wary while traversing the open world so that they don't buy into the worthless drivel and misleading information written in these messages.
Elden Ring is available on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S.