FromSoftware's latest Souls title Elden Ring has reached a broader community by streamlining some mechanics and systems carried over from older games, but one thing remains a problem. Featured in a new clip, a duo of Elden Ring fans highlight a big issue with enemy tracking in cooperative gameplay that results in their untimely deaths.
Reddit user Wotan69 recently posted a clip from their co-op adventures in Elden Ring with a friend as they approach one of the more powerful bosses in the game. Although the boss seems focused on one of the Tarnished, the pathing used in Elden Ring surprises the primary player, who gets attacked instead. Because Souls games have bosses that cause instant kills in many cases, the problematic pathing is responsible for countless deaths beyond this player, with many voicing their own grievances alongside Wotan69's post.
Wotan69's Elden Ring video shows the two players in combat with Malenia Goddess of Rot, the final boss of the Elphael, Brace of the Haligtree. Malenia is considered one of the toughest bosses in the game, and the duo is methodical in its movements as the enemy takes to the sky while illuminated with bright fire. She then plunges into the ground, swiftly tunneling to the furthest Elden Ring player, and attacks them. With one blow, Malenia is able to kill Wotan69 with on-screen text reading "scarlet rot" and leaving their friend left alone with the strong boss.
The Elden Ring clip from Wotan69 emphasizes the constant threat of enemies, whether fans are playing cooperatively or not, as they can alter their target mid-attack. While Wotan69 is wielding two Vulgar Militia Shotels, their teammate has a single weapon that remains unused throughout the video as the player tries to keep the attention of Malenia. Because Wotan69's co-op partner was unable to take the brunt of the boss' attack, the player may have only survived by acting as if the battle was solo.
Although the Elden Ring co-op duo was able to lower Malenia's health by about one-sixth, the other player likely wasn't able to continue much longer after the death of Wotan69. It's currently unclear what's causing Elden Ring bosses to change targets so quickly, but it may be linked to the wide variety of strategic maneuvers they come programmed with. Considering how many Elden Ring players admit their co-op battles have resulted in similarly unfortunate deaths, FromSoftware may update Elden Ring to have improved enemy tracking in the future.
Elden Ring is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
