FromSoftware's games don't have many recurring characters, but one that has popped up numerous times over the years is Patches. Patches once again returns in Elden Ring, found in a cave that players can reach very early in the game. After making their way through Murkwater Cave in Limgrave, Elden Ring players can open a chest to trigger a boss fight with Patches, who accuses the player of stealing his belongings.
The Patches boss fight in Elden Ring is one of the easiest in the game and should be resolved fairly quickly. After Elden Ring players have dealt some damage to Patches, he will then try to surrender. At that point, Elden Ring players have the choice to kill or spare Patches. If players choose to spare Patches, then they will potentially have more encounters with him later in the game.
The immediate effect of sparing Patches in Elden Ring turns him into a merchant that players can use at Murkwater Cave and other locations. When players reach the Radahn boss fight, they will notice that Patches is one of the options for NPCs that players can summon into the battle. However, if players actually summon Patches in to help with the Radahn fight, they will find that he leaves to go back to his world fairly quickly and so isn't much help.
Patches will later trick the player into following a trail of Rainbow Stones and kicking them off the cliff. After this, players can still encounter Patches when in Volcano Manor to start a special questline. Obviously, anyone that chose to kill Patches earlier will not be able to start this particular quest until they start a New Game+ run.
The final location Elden Ring players see Patches is at the Shaded Castle in the Altus Plateau. Once here, players can get the Dancer's Castanets from him. Anyone that regrets not killing Patches in Elden Ring at their first meeting can then kill him here now if they'd like with no real consequences.
Patches has become a sort of unofficial mascot for FromSoftware, appearing in many of the company's games ever since his debut appearance in Armored Core: For Answer. Considering how many times he's popped up over the years, it seems highly likely that fans will see Patches again in FromSoftware's next game, whatever that may be. While they wait to learn more about FromSoftware's next project, fans can continue exploring Elden Ring's massive open world.
Elden Ring is out now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
