An invader in Elden Ring chases down a player for eight minutes only to be denied a climactic fight as his target tries some cheese and fails spectacularly. It's a good reminder that for every triumphant moment of a player finally defeating Malenia, there's a hilarious moment of failure to balance it out.
For those unfamiliar, the invasion mechanic in Elden Ring works a little differently than in previous Soulsborne games. For the most part, players can only invade the world of a player who has already called a collaborator, leading to epic and difficult confrontations. This recent video shared by Lagideath2, however, was not one of those confrontations.
The invader in question spawned into a world where his target and collaborator were tackling one of the longer and more grueling bits of the open world: the road of Mt. Gelmir. This long and winding road sees players climbing up ladders and sprinting through corridors, beset by unexpected and diverse enemies. The invading player chased the host and collaborator to the top of the mountain, only to discover the host winding up an attack at the top of a ladder. While the invader rolled through it, the host followed through with the attack and stepped right off a ledge. Much like a player over-prepping against the Beast Clergyman, one small step can end the whole fight.
This is not an uncommon occurrence with invasions, but it's always disappointing to everyone involved. Invading is not usually explicitly about messing up the target's day, just having a good PvP fight against those unprepared. To be denied that fight is disappointing to them, and the target obviously gets their boss attempt wrecked. Cheese strategies like knocking opponents off cliffs are popular, but this shows why it's not always well advised. Sometimes a player can survive on one HP against an invasion in Elden Ring, and sometimes things don't work out so well.
Developing cheesy methods to deal with invasions is a time-honored tradition in Elden Ring at this point, and many times it can provide truly memorable moments. This can include the use of unconventional attacks that don't usually see use elsewhere, sometimes resulting in explosive death for everyone.
While disappointing on some levels, it's worth remembering that these moments are a part of the game for a reason, and have been part of the Soulsborne experience for years. They're hilarious, silly, and the sort of thing that brings the community together. It's moments like this that make the official Elden Ring manga make sense as a comedy.
Elden Ring is available for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
